Cup of Coffee: Witherspoon records 14 swings and misses; Opata hits grand slam

7/22 Cup of Coffee: It was a rough day for the Red Sox affiliates, as the WooSox were rained out and the active affiliates went 1-5 on Tuesday. The Sea Dogs were the only victorious team in the system, as Brooks Brannon, Ronald Rosario, and Jack Winnay all hit solo home runs. Kyson Witherspoon delivered a strong start in Greenville and Andrews Opata (pictured) crushed a grand slam for Salem but neither team was able to pull away with a win. Jorge Rodriguez had a big game in the FCL but it was a slow day for both DSL teams, with the Blue squad failing to record a hit. 

 

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Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (MIA) @ Worcester Red Sox (postponed) 

The WooSox were rained out in the opening game of their series against Jacksonville and they will make up the game as part of a doubleheader today.  

 

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Minor Notes: Draft signings announced; Delzine highlights promotions

The game schedule indicated a quieter week as the major league squad and all four full-season affiliates were on hiatus from Monday through Thursday for All-Star festivities, but there was no break in the news coming from the system. The team signed its cadre of 2026 draft picks in the middle of the week, and the usual midsummer string of promotions has begun, highlighted by top-30 prospects Sadbiel Delzine (pictured), Blake Wehunt, and Mason White.

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Red Sox sign 17 2026 draft picks

The olden days of the long, drawn-out signing period have passed, as the Red Sox came to terms with 17 of their 19 selections about a week and a half after the draft date. Much of the bonus pool was spread around to five selections. First-round pick Jake Schaffner and third-round selection Jace Matacynski received $2 million apiece; ninth-rounder Matin Shelar was signed to a $1.5 million deal; Competitive Balance-B pick Owen Hull got $1.2 million; and 10th-round pick Kaleb LaFavor received $847,500). Schaffner's bonus came in at $2.37 million below the 20th slot value, a clear illustration of the "trade-down" strategy the Red Sox took in a draft that does not allow the trading of most picks. 

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Cup of Coffee: Ramirez finishes double shy of cycle in DSL

7/21 Cup of Coffee: As Wilyer Abreu (pictured) took home American League Player of the Week honors and the Red Sox extended their winning streak to 14 games, Boston's rookie-level affiliates went 0-2 on Monday. The FCL squad was rained out, while both DSL squads fell to their counterparts from the Rays organization.

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FCL Braves @ FCL Red Sox (Cancelled)

This game was cancelled due to rain and will not be made up.

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Cup of Coffee: Ziehl strikes out eight over five shutout frames; Salazar powers Salem

7/20 Cup of Coffee: Portland and Salem were the two winning affiliates on Sunday, with Portland being led by Gage Ziehl and Salem being powered by Kleyver Salazar (pictured). Worcester lost a tough game in walk-off fashion, while Greenville's bullpen collapsed against Frederick. 

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 5, Worcester Red Sox 4

Worcester mounted a strong rally to tie the game with three runs in the eighth, but the RailRiders launched a walk-off home run to win it. RBI singles from Nate Eaton and Mickey Gasper brought the WooSox closer, and then Brett Harris knotted it up with an RBI double. A two-out triple from Braiden Ward in the ninth got wasted as Nick Sogard struck out to strand him. It was a bullpen game for Worcester with Osvaldo Berrios allowing one run over the first two innings. Noah Song threw a scoreless inning in his first appearance in over a week, and Sam McWilliams took the loss after allowing the walk-off home run. 

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Podcast Ep. #423: Red-Hot Sox, Draftees Sign, Rankings Update

Ian, Mike, and Chris had a ton to discuss this episode: The Red Sox' epic winning streak and what it means for the trade deadline, the signing of most of the club's 2026 draft class and how it revealed the club's spread-the-wealth strategy, and a fresh rankings update. And as if that wasn't enough, the guys even cleaned out the email inbox.

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Cup of Coffee: Eyanson, Arias lead Sea Dogs shutout

7/19 Cup of Coffee: Sometimes it is who you least expect. Saturday was not one of those times. Franklin Arias and Anthony Eyanson (pictured), Boston's top two prospects and two representatives in last Sunday's Futures Game, starred in Portland's blowout victory, with the former getting on base five times and the latter firing five shutout innings. Salem pounded out 12 hits in its victory, led by Louis Andjuar, while Greenville suffered the system's only defeat. Worcester and the FCL Sox were both rained out, and the DSL clubs were out of action as they prepare for Sunday's All-Star Game. 

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Worcester Red Sox @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY), postponed

Saturday's game in Scranton was postponed due to heavy rain. A makeup date has not yet been announced, only that it will take place later in the season. 

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Cup of Coffee: Primera unstoppable in slugfest; Azocar delivers walkoff for Drive

7/18 Cup of Coffee: While the minor league All-Star games have gone the way of the Great Auk, the full-season leagues still take a much-needed mid-July break, aligning with the major league festivities. The rest already seems to have benefitted Franklin Primera (pictured), who had a monster four-hit, four-run, two-double effort for Salem, though it was not enough to get the RidgeYaks to the win in a Friday night slugfest. Greenville walked off with the system's only stateside victory. Worcester and Portland both fell to Yankee affiliates, while the FCL Sox were limited to one hit. The DSL squads pulled off the sweep, with team Blue pounding out 15 runs in a slugfest while the Red squad hurlers combined on a four-hitter in a more crisply-played affair.

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 7, Worcester Red Sox 6

The WooSox faced a strong test, as Yankee left-hander Max Fried began his rehab assignment on Friday evening. Worcester reached Fried for a pair of runs over three innings, including a Nate Eaton solo homer in the third, but were done in by a four-run rally in the second. Starter Raymond Burgos took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits across four innings. Hobie Harris was activated from the injured list earlier in the day and made his first 2026 appearance for the WooSox, surrendering two runs in his inning of work. Angel Bastardo was perfect for two innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced, followed by another one-two-three inning by a returning Tommy Kahnle in the eighth. 

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Cup of Coffee: Marin, Zanetello shine in FCL slugfest; Brito, Silverio stand out in DSL

7/17 Cup of Coffee: Thursday's slate featured three close games for Boston's rookie-level affiliates. Liosward Marin (pictured) and the rehabbing Nazzan Zanetello combined for five hits in Florida Complex League action. In the Dominican Summer League, Garielvin Silverio and Dawvris Brito put together multi-hit performances.

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FCL Braves 14, FCL Red Sox 13

The FCL squad was on the wrong side of this high-scoring affair. Liosward Marin led the way offensively, going 3 for 5 with two doubles, three RBI, one run scored, and one stolen base. Nazzan Zanetello, continuing his rehab assignment, went 2 for 3 with one double, two RBI, one run scored, and one stolen base. Tavano Baker, who pinch-hit for Zanetello in the sixth inning, also doubled and scored one run. Jostin Ogando went 2 for 3 with one RBI, two runs scored, one stolen base, and two walks. Edwin Darville drove in two runs, scored twice, stole three bases, and drew one walk. Josue Brito drew three walks and scored one run. Fabian Bonilla drove in one run, scored twice, and drew two walks. Harold Rivas drove in two runs, scored another, and stole one base.

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Cup of Coffee: Ogando triples twice, Martin reaches base six times in FCL slugfest

7/15 Cup of Coffee: It was another quiet day in the Red Sox organization, as the big league team and full-season affiliates are in the midst of their All-Star break, leaving the FCL and DSL teams as the only active teams on Tuesday. Jostin Ogando (pictured) tripled twice and Maximus Martin reached base six times in a high-scoring win for the FCL Sox. Anderson Gonzalez and Santiago Yanes had strong games for the Red Sox Blue but their day ended in disappointing fashion as they were walked off in the bottom of the ninth. The Red Sox Red recorded only three hits in a quiet offensive performance. 

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FCL Red Sox 18, FCL Orioles 12 (10 innings)

The FCL Sox rode a pair of monster innings to a comeback win in extra innings. Down 10-2 entering the seventh inning, the Sox put nine runs on the board with a huge rally. Fabian Bonilla delivered a two-run single to start the scoring in the seventh and Jostin Ogando came through with a two-run triple to bring the team within a run. Nazzan Zanetello drove in the go-ahead run with a double but the Orioles were able to score the tying run in the ninth and send the game to extras. The Red Sox bats came alive again in the top of the tenth, however, scoring seven more runs to turn the extra-inning affair into a blowout. Ogando drilled his second triple of the game to score two runs and put the Sox in the lead, going 3 for 6 with four RBI overall. Catcher Jorge Rodriguez went 3 for 6 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBI. Maximus Martin was 2 for 3 with a double, four walks, and four runs scored. 

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Podcast Ep. #422: 2026 Draft Recap

With the 2026 draft in the books, Chris Hatfield and Andrew Parker hopped on to discuss the 19 newest Red Sox draftees. After the savings on day one, did the late-round overslot selections of Martin Shelar and Kaleb LaFavor round out the class sufficiently? The guys dropped some knowledge on the draftees and gave their thoughts of the class on the whole.

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Minor Notes: Red Sox draft class headlines busy All-Star week

It is one of the busiest times in the baseball calendar with the MLB Draft and All-Star festivities all taking place over the course of a few days. In Jake Bruml's first draft as the Director of Amateur Scouting, the Red Sox took a more balanced approach when compared with last year. A year ago, 15 of Boston's 21 picks were pitchers, and 10 of those came out of the SEC. In 2026, Boston drafted 11 pitchers and eight hitters, with the first three picks all being position players. Elsewhere, Franklin Arias and Anthony Eyanson (pictured, left) contributed to a Futures Game victory, and the Red Sox have remained the hottest team in baseball with the help of some reinforcements from Worcester. 

If you are enjoying this and any of the other content you get from the SoxProspects.com team, please considering making a contribution to our annual Donation Drive. The donations help to offset the cost of travel so that we're able to get first-hand looks at players, as well as some of the general site expenses such as hardware and hosting.

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Cup of Coffee: Casanova homers, Griman strikes out eight in DSL

7/14 Cup of Coffee: As the dust settled from a busy draft weekend, Boston's rookie-level affiliates went 2-2 on Monday. The FCL Red Sox were held to just one hit, a Tavano Baker (pictured) single, in a shutout loss at the hands of the FCL Orioles. In Dominican Summer League action, Esterlin Casanova homered while Allan Griman struck out eight over four innings of one-run ball.

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FCL Orioles 5, FCL Red Sox 0

Hobie Harris continued his rehab assignment and took the loss in his start for the FCL squad. He pitched one inning, allowing two earned runs on three hits, one walk, and no strikeouts. Angelo Ladera surrendered an additional run in the second before making way for Yomar De La Rosa, who gave up two earned runs across five innings. Yander Bonaci then worked a scoreless top of the ninth. At the plate, Tavano Baker was responsible for his side's lone hit, as he went 1 for 3 with a third-inning single.

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Cup of Coffee: Eyanson earns the Futures Game win; Romero walks it off for Worcester

7/13 Cup of Coffee: The Red Sox were well represented in the All-Star Futures Game, with the system's two top prospects contributing to the win for the American League. Worcester and Salem had exciting wins in extra innings, with Mikey Romero playing the hero for the WooSox, while Ilan Fernandez (pictured) led the RidgeYaks. 

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2026 All-Star Futures Game

American League Futures 6, National League Futures 1

Getting the start at second base, Franklin Arias went 0 for 2 with an RBI groundout. He was at the keystone in deference to Leo De Vries at shortstop. The win went to Anthony Eyanson despite him recording just one out. He came on with two outs in the fourth and walked Ethan Salas before getting Luis Peña to fly out. 

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2026 Draft Recap: How Boston's picks ranked

Of Boston's 19 selections in the 2026 Draft, eight were ranked in the Baseball America Top 500, four in the MLB Pipeline Top 250 list, and five in the ESPN.com Top 250. 

See below for a listing of the 2026 Red Sox draftees who were ranked by BA, MLB.com, or ESPN.com. The full list of this year's draft selections can be found over at the SoxProspects.com Draft History page.

Round-Pick: Player, Position (Rank)

1-20: Jake Schaffner, SS (BA: 98; MLB: 75; ESPN: 51)

CBB-67: Owen Hull, OF (BA: 60; MLB: 67; ESPN: 62

3-96: Jace Mataczynski, SS (BA: 102; MLB: 131; ESPN: 77)

6-185: Brett Lanman, LHP (BA: 307)

7-214: Kide Adetuyi, LHP (BA: 442)

9-274: Martin Shelar, OF (BA: 125; MLB: 175; ESPN: 80)

10-304: Kaleb LaFavor, RHP (BA: 461; ESPN: 171)

18-544: Ethan Offing, OF (BA: 377)

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Welcome to the 2026 Draft Signing Period!

Now that the 2026 First-Year Player Draft is in the books, the signing period is upon us. With some limited exceptions, this year's signing deadline is 5:00 pm ET on July 27, 2026. As most of our readers know, each team's spending on draft pick bonuses is capped. The overall bonus cap is determined by the number and placement of each team's selections.

The bonus cap sets an aggregate limit for a team to spend on its selections in the first ten rounds and also limits teams from spending over $150,000 on players taken after the 10th round (the excess on any late-round bonuses will count against the bonus pool). Boston's cap is $8,219,200 this year. If the club exceeds its pool: (1) by 0-5%, it will be charged a 75% tax on the excess; (2) by 5-10%, it will pay the same tax and will also lose its first-round pick next season; (3) by 10-15%, it will be charged a 100% tax on the excess and lose its first- and second-round picks next season; and (4) by more than 15%, 100% tax on the excess and lose its next two first-round picks.

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2026 Draft Day 2 Recap: Rounds 16-20

The SoxProspects.com pick-by-pick coverage of the 2026 draft concludes with recaps of selections 16 through 20. 

16. Colton Coates, SS, Louisiana Tech

Coates (pictured) is coming off a strong junior season at LTO in which he hit .330/.447/.488 with 45 walks against just 30 strikeouts while starting all 58 games. Primarily a shorstop in 2026, Coates saw significant time at third base during his sophomore year. In addition to his Conference USA experience, Coates played in the Cape Cod League last summer for the Brewster Whitecaps. 

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2026 Draft Day 2 Recap: Rounds 11-15

The Red Sox kicked off the back half of the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft by selecting three college pitchers, one college position player, and one high school position player.

Here are brief recaps of selections 11 through 15:

11. Wills Maginnis, SS, Georgia State

Maginnis (pictured) was taken with the 334th overall pick out of Georgia State. The right-handed hitting 21-year-old batted .306/.404/.486 with 13 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 42 RBIs, 49 runs scored, 21 stolen bases, 31 walks, and 36 strikeouts in 56 games (260 plate appearances) for the Panthers as a draft-eligible sophomore this past spring. He was a 2026 All-Sun Belt First Team selection and had committed to transfer to Arkansas last month. Defensively, he has experience at first base, second base, third base, and right field.

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Red Sox select Kaleb LaFavor with 10th-round pick

With their 10th-round pick in the 2026 draft, Boston has selected Kaleb LaFavor, a right-handed pitcher out of Bishop Heelan Catholic High School in Iowa. On the heels of drafting Martin Shelar with their ninth-round pick, the Red Sox appear to be going overslot again in round 10. LaFavor is ranked 465th by Baseball America, but Kiley McDaniel has him rated as the 171st best prospect in the draft. He is committed to the University of Iowa. 

On the MLB Draft broadcast, Jim Callis turned heads by noting that LaFavor has parallels to Jacob Misiorowski at the same stage of their prep careers. Both players stand at 6-foot-7 and come from the Midwest. Nobody is projecting LaFavor to throw 105 mph, but he was up to 95 early this spring. Later in the season his velocity did dip to 84-87, and that caused scouts to assume he was headed to join the Hawkeyes in the fall. With Boston taking him at this spot, they must have confidence they can get a deal done. 

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Red Sox select Martin Shelar with ninth-round pick

With their ninth-round pick in the 2026 draft, Boston has selected Martin Shelar, an outfielder out of the Marist School (GA). Shelar is committed to Mississippi State and the slot value for this pick is $205,400.

 

Shelar has plenty of size, at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds according to Baseball America, but that weight ticks up to 205 pounds on MLBPipeline.com's ledger. His power/speed combo makes for an intriguing prospect, as he led the country with 19 home runs in 33 prep games this season and has the potential for 70-grade raw power, while he's been clocked at plus 60-yard times. However, scouts are concerned about his contact skills, as he sells out with a hard swing aimed at getting the ball in the air, with the potential for a below-average contact grade against professional pitching. His speed also plays down in-game.

 

The Georgian played center field in high school but profiles more on the corner at the professional level, but has enough arm to end up in right field.

 

According to MLBPipeline.com, it will require a sizable bonus to sway Shelar from going to Starkville. Baseball America ranked him at No. 125 on its list, while MLBPipeleine.com was a bit less bullish, at No. 175.

 

Photo credit: Martin Shelar by Perfect Game 

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Red Sox select Josh Volmerding with eighth-round pick

With the 244th overall pick in the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Red Sox selected Josh Volmerding, a left-handed pitcher out of California Polytechnic State University. He is unranked by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.

Volmerding is the fourth consecutive college pitcher and third consecutive southpaw taken by Boston. The 21-year-old lefty spent three seasons at Cal Poly and is coming off a junior campaign in which he posted a 6.51 ERA with 31 strikeouts to 10 walks across 10 appearances (8 starts) spanning 27 2/3 innings for the Mustangs. It is worth noting that he was sidelined for nearly seven weeks (March 15-May 2) due to a knee injury.

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