Fall/Winter League Roundup: Perales and Neely struggle; Garcia homers

With the World Series now over, there is still baseball to follow. It was a tough week for the Salt River Rafters in Arizona as the team dropped all six games it played. The season is nearing the end as the Fall Stars Game is scheduled for Sunday, while the playoffs will start on November 13. Every team makes the playoffs in the AFL, so the six-game losing skid does not take them out of contention. 

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Arizona Fall League

In his lone start this week, Luis Perales hit 100.9 mph and generated 11 whiffs, but he was tagged for five runs in 2 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five as his ERA rose to 9.58. Brandon Neely faced a similar fate in his relief appearance, allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings with two walks and three strikeouts. The other Boston pitching prospects had a solid week in the offensive-friendly environment, led by Jojo Ingrassia (pictured), who fired three innings of one-run ball with a walk and two strikeouts. Jay Allmer posted two scoreless frames with a strikeout and a walk, and Isaac Stebens surrendered just an unearned run in 2 1/3 innings. 

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Podcast Ep #387: Closing in on the Official Start of the Offseason

Ian is joined by Mike Andrews this week to discuss all the latest Red Sox news! They start off by talking about the new hitting coach, minor league coaching changes and Kristian Campbell’s weight loss. Then Mike runs through all the relevant dates to know about for once the World Series ends. After that, they wrap up by answering your emails including questions on Tanner Houck, Henry Owens, Ceddanne Rafeala’s plate skills and more!

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Perales continues to build up in the AFL; Neely makes impressive relief outing

It was an active week for Red Sox minor leaguers, as seven of the eight players that Boston sent to the Arizona Fall League appeared in games. The week was highlighted by third-ranked prospect Luis Perales' longest outing of the season, though he continues to be hit hard in the offensively-charged environment in the AFL. A pair of Red Sox prospects also got into game action in the Dominican Professional Baseball League. 

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Arizona Fall League

Luis Perales' return to the mound after missing nearly the entire 2025 regular season continues to be one of the most interesting storylines among Red Sox prospects in the AFL. Perales started for the Salt River Rafters on Sunday and made his longest outing of the fall, going 2 2/3 innings and throwing 54 pitches. However, he struggled as he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out two batters and walking one. This start raised Perales' ERA to 6.75 through eight innings in the AFL. 

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Podcast Ep #386: Arizona Fall League and Emails with Chris Clegg

Ian is joined by Chris Clegg this week to talk about his trip to the Arizona Fall League. They start off discussing the setup of the AFL and the playing conditions before diving into specific players with Chris providing first-hand reports on Luis Perales, Brandon Neely, Johanfran Garcia and the rest of the Red Sox Prospects there. To start the show, Ian and Chris also briefly talk about Tony Vitello leaving Tennessee for the Giants and then after the AFL discussion, finish the show by answering your emails.

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Podcast Ep# 385: Early Offseason Thoughts with Alex Speier

Ian is joined by Alex Speier this week for a wide-ranging discussion about all things Red Sox. They start off discussing the greatness of Shohei Ohtani and then talk about what these playoffs have revealed about team building and how it could impact the Red Sox offseason. They then discuss the turnover in the front office and Craig Breslow’s thoughts heading into the offseason. Finally, they wrap up by talking about the Red Sox offseason needs and what areas they could be looking to improve.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Perales makes a pair of starts, Guerrero and Hernandez play in the Dominican Republic

With the Arizona Fall League in full swing, several Red Sox prospects have been seeing game action for the last week and a half. While it has been tough for most of the Boston representatives, Luis Perales continues to ramp up following his recovery from Tommy John surgery. In addition to the Fall League, a pair of Red Sox farmhands saw some action in the Dominican League. This week's roundup covers everything from October 13-19, with stats available at the SoxProspects.com Fall & Winter Leagues page.

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Arizona Fall League 

Without a doubt the most intriguing storyline among Boston's players is Luis Perales, who made his second and third starts of the Fall League this week. After kicking things off for the Salt River Rafters with 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the season opener, Perales followed it up with two innings in his second start. While he allowed a run on a walk in the second frame, he did not allow a hit and struck out four while throwing 21 of his 31 pitches for strikes. Perales also topped out at 100.7 MPH on his fastball. In his third start on Sunday afternoon, the right-hander struggled with command. He allowed three runs on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts tallied to his line, throwing just 29 of his 51 pitches for strikes while topping out at 100.5 MPH. 

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Perales hits 101 mph, Tucker off to hot start

It was a busy week for Sox players in the first few days of action in the Arizona Fall League. Boston sent eight players, three position players and five pitchers, who are playing for the Salt River Rafters. This week's roundup covers everything from October 6-12, and stats for all participating players can be found at the SoxProspects.com Fall & Winter Leagues page. 

 

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Arizona Fall League 

Catcher Johanfan Garcia is off to a nice start this fall, going 4 for 12 with four singles and a walk last week. The 20-year-old backstop hit .261 with 12 home runs and a .792 OPS in 58 games between the FCL Sox and Greenville. Second baseman Stanley Tucker has played in four games and is hitting .333/.412/.333. In the early going, Tucker leads Salt River in RBI with six and in stolen bases with three. Nelly Taylor is off to a cold start at the plate, as he went 1 for 8 with a single last week. He has, however, stolen two bases and scored a couple of runs. 

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Podcast Ep #384: Breaking Down The New SoxProspects Rankings

Ian and Mike are back for a full breakdown of the latest SoxProspects rankings update! They start off explaining how they settled on the order of Franklin Arias, Luis Perales, Kyson Witherspoon and Payton Tolle and then move down the list and discuss why other prospects made notable jumps or fell down the list. Players discussed further include Justin Gonzales, Yhoiker Fajardo, Henry Godbout, John Holobetz, Jesus Travieso and more. After that they end the show by answering a few listener emails!

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2025 SoxProspects.com Awards: Pitcher of the Year

This concludes the fifth and final day of 2025 SoxProspects.com Awards week. As previously mentioned, we at SoxProspects.com have spent the past week recognizing our All-Star position players and pitchers, Graduate of the Year, Homegrown Player of the Year, Ex-Prospect of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Breakout Player of the Year, and Player of the Year. To wrap things up today, we are naming our Pitcher of the Year honoree.

Pitcher of the Year

Like Player of the Year Jhostynxon Garcia, Connelly Early (pictured) stood out in several areas on his way to making his MLB debut late this season. On the heels of earning 2024 SoxProspects.com All-Star and Rookie of the Year honors, the 23-year-old left-hander opened the 2025 campaign as the No. 10 prospect in the system.

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2025 SoxProspects.com Awards: Player of the Year

Welcome to the fifth and final day of 2025 SoxProspects.com Awards week. Throughout the week, we at SoxProspects.com have recognized our All-Star position players and pitchers, Graduate of the Year, Homegrown Player of the Year, Ex-Prospect of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, and Breakout Player of the Year. Today, we start by naming our Player of the Year.

Player of the Year

Jhostynxon Garcia (pictured) followed up a standout 2024 season by putting up more impressive power numbers and making his MLB debut in 2025. After being added to the Red Sox' 40-man roster for Rule 5 protection purposes last November, the 22-year-old outfielder took part in his first big league camp this spring and returned to Portland for the start of the new campaign. At that time, he was ranked as the No. 14 prospect in the system.

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Podcast Ep #383: Moving onto the Offseason

Ian is joined this week by Editor-in-Chief Mike Andrews to break down the Red Sox wild card series loss to the Yankees and where they go from here. They discussed some of the reasons the Red Sox lost and then the key areas they need to upgrade in the offseason. After that they touched on the start of the Arizona Fall League where both Luis Perales and Brandon Neely pitched on opening day. Finally, they wrap up the show by answering your emails!

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2025 SoxProspects.com Awards: Rookie, Breakout, and Comeback Players of the Year

We continue our SoxProspects.com Awards week with our Rookie, Breakout, and Comeback players of the year. Eligible Rookies will have fewer than 50 plate appearances or 15 innings pitched in their minor league careers. Comeback Player is awarded a player who has returned to prospect form from injury, poor performance, or a combination of the two. Breakout Player recognizes the player who made the greatest jump in prospect status during the season. The 2025 honorees include a member of the 2025 playoff roster, a pitcher who has overcome obstacles throughout his career, and a high-upside 18-year-old who showed advanced skills for his age. 

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Rookie of the Year: Payton Tolle

A unanimous selection among the SoxProspects.com staff, Tolle blazed through the minor leagues and found himself on a big-league mound in August. A second-round pick in the 2024 draft out of Texas Christian, fans were a bit surprised to see Tolle get a slightly above-slot bonus at the 50th overall pick. He was ranked 87th in the draft by MLB Pipeline and 82nd by Baseball America. But the Red Sox clearly liked him more than that, and the left-hander debuted with Greenville on April 8. His first start was one to forget, as he gave up six runs while only recording five outs. It ended up being his worst start of the year, and he responded quickly by striking out 76 and allowing 14 runs over his next 48 innings. 

He made his Double-A debut on June 28, but it only took him five weeks to completely overpower the Eastern League. His eye-popping numbers of a 1.67 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with Portland turned a lot of heads, and he was promoted to Worcester for what ended up being just a cup of coffee in Triple-A. His three starts with the WooSox saw him strike out 17 and walk only 2 over 15 innings while batters hit .193 against him. His major league debut was one of the highlights of the 2025 season for Red Sox fans as he struck out eight over 5 1/3 innings while leaving with a shutout until the bullpen let two inherited runners score. He ended the year in a bullpen role where he hit triple digits while connecting with fans due to his charisma on the mound. 

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2025 SoxProspects.com Awards: Graduate, Homegrown, and Ex-Prospect

We continue our SoxProspects.com Awards coverage with the 2025 Graduate, Homegrown Player, and Ex-Prospect of the year. The Graduate and Homegrown honorees both made significant contributions to the big-league club this year, while the Ex-Prospect Award recipient is someone who started the year in the middle of Boston's lineup. 

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Graduate of the Year: Roman Anthony

Anthony cemented himself as the top prospect in baseball in his two-plus months to begin the year in Worcester. He hit .288/.423/.491 with almost as many walks as strikeouts as a 20-year-old (turned 21 on May 13) in the International League. He was the Red Sox Minor League Hitter of the Month and the SoxProspects.com Player of the Month in April. When last year's winner of this award, Wilyer Abreu, went down with an oblique injury on June 9, Anthony was called up to take his place in right field. His performance barely took a dip in going from Triple-A to the majors, as he hit .292/.396/.463 over 71 games before an oblique injury ended his regular season on September 2.

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2025 SoxProspects.com All-Stars: Pitchers

Following up on Monday's post recognizing All-Star position players, we continue 2025 SoxProspects.com Awards week by shifting our focus to All-Star pitchers. This group includes two lefties who made their big league debuts this season, three trade acquisitions, and one undrafted free agent.

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Starting Pitcher: Payton Tolle

Tolle is a first-time SoxProspects.com All-Star after making quite the impression in his first full professional season. Selected with the 50th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of TCU, Tolle opened the 2025 campaign in Greenville but wasted very little time in moving up the organizational ladder. By late June, the 22-year-old left-hander was promoted to Portland. By early August, he was in Worcester. Between the three levels, he forged a 3.04 ERA with 133 strikeouts to 23 walks across 20 appearances (18 starts) spanning 91 2/3 total innings in which he held opponents to a .203 batting average. The 6-foot-6 southpaw was recognized as the Red Sox' Minor League Pitcher of the Year and made his MLB debut on Aug. 29, posting a 6.06 ERA with 19 strikeouts to eight walks in his first seven outings (three starts) and 16 1/3 innings for the big club. Equipped with an upper-90s fastball that can reach triple digits, Tolle is currently ranked as both the top pitching prospect and top overall prospect in the system.

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2025 SoxProspects.com All-Stars: Position Players

Welcome to the 2025 SoxProspects.com Awards week! Over the next five days, we will present our annual awards on the news page, recognizing the standout performers from the season. Following the format we've used the last few years, the schedule will be as follows:

Monday: All-Star position players

Tuesday: All-Star pitchers

Wednesday: Graduate of the Year; Homegrown Player of the Year; Ex-Prospect of the Year

Thursday: Rookie of the Year; Breakout Player of the Year; Comeback Player of the Year

Friday: Player of the Year; Pitcher of the Year

We kick things off with the All-Star position players as selected by the SoxProspects.com staff. While we consider factors such as age advancement and opponent quality, these awards recognize the players' in-game performances rather than a commentary on any status as a prospect. The All-Star team is highlighted by four players who made their major league debuts in 2024, two on the position player side.

 

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Catcher: Johanfran Garcia

After a knee injury that limited Garcia to just 14 games in 2024, he re-emerged with a strong 2025 campaign. Garcia started the year on the injured list as he continued to rehab, tuning up with a 12-game stint in the FCL before taking his spot in Greenville. He hit a solid .249/.327/.428 with the Drive, popping nine homers in 46 games. He caught in consecutive games for the first time on July 10 and 11, portending his healthy second half during which he slugged .500. Garcia is currently the 31st-ranked player in the system, highest at the catcher position. 

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Minor Notes: Playoffs set to begin; Nationals reportedly hire Toboni

It was the first full week without minor league games, but there were several big news stories for Boston fans to follow. The one getting the most attention is the playoff roster for the Wild Card Series against the Yankees. There was also a big shakeup in the baseball operations department with Paul Toboni leaving, while Payton Tolle and Jhostynxon Garcia (pictured) received notable accolades. 

Playoff preview

Chris and Ian got together for a new episode of the Podcast to preview the MLB playoffs. They discuss how the Red Sox got to 89 wins, and who they suspect will be included on the playoff roster. Later in the episode, they do a season review of each affiliate while picking the top offensive player and pitcher for each team. 

Nationals hire Toboni to lead baseball operations

Red Sox Senior Vice President/Assistant General Manager Paul Toboni has reportedly been hired by the Washington Nationals to lead their baseball operations department. Toboni, 35, was a fast-riser in Boston's organization. His career started 10 years ago as a baseball operations intern with the Red Sox, and he held various leadership positions including the Director of Amateur Scouting and the Vice President of Amateur Scouting and Player Development.

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Podcast Ep #382: Playoff Preview, Season Review

We're looking ahead, then looking back in this episode. Ian and Chris started by previewing the first Red Sox playoff baseball in four years. Who might make the roster? Who is eligible for that matter? And when looking forward, we must consider how we got here, so the guys compared their early predictions with what went down. Finally, the guys looked back and picked their respective position player and pitcher of the year for each team in the system, working up the ladder.

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Minor Notes: Worcester's season ends as Red Sox cling to wild card spot

The 2025 season has officially concluded for all Red Sox minor league affiliates as Worcester's season came to an end on Sunday. The big league team is currently one game ahead of Cleveland and Houston, who are tied for the last wild card spot, and the Red Sox' exciting pitching depth has been a major factor in their postseason push. 

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Young left-handers fortify Red Sox pitching staff 

A trio of left-handed pitchers in Connelly Early, Kyle Harrison (pictured), and Payton Tolle have been recalled to the major league club in recent weeks and have provided a boost to a battered Red Sox pitching staff. Over the last week, Harrison made his first start with the Red Sox and delivered six innings of one-run ball against the Rays on Saturday night. Harrison struck out five and walked two while throwing 70% of his pitches for strikes in a much-needed excellent performance. Early made two starts in the last week, throwing 5 1/3 innings while allowing a run and striking out seven against the A's on Tuesday. The third start of Early's major league career was less dominant on Sunday night, as he allowed three runs (two earned) in four innings. However, the eighth-ranked prospect in the system has been impressive through his first 14 1/3 innings with Boston, as he has pitched to a 1.88 ERA with 22 strikeouts. The Red Sox have placed Tolle in the bullpen as they continue to monitor his innings in his first professional season. He has allowed two runs while striking out five batters through four innings in his first two relief appearances. 

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Cup of Coffee: Worcester wins a slugfest in the season finale

9/22 Cup of Coffee: In the final game of the minor league season for Boston's affiliates, the WooSox held on in a high-scoring affair. All eyes will turn to the major league squad as they battle for a playoff spot. The next game action from the prospects will come when the Arizona Fall League kicks off on October 6. 

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Worcester Red Sox 9, Rochester Red Wings (WAS) 8

A 15-hit offensive attack helped overcome a shaky bullpen. Nathan Hickey kicked off the scoring with a solo home run in the first, and he added a bases-loaded walk in the fourth. Max Ferguson (pictured) went 3 for 5 with a double and two steals, while Mikey Romero went 2 for 4 with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. Phillip Sikes went 3 for 4 with a walk, and Karson Simas went 2 for 3 with a walk as nine players collected at least one hit. 

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Cup of Coffee: Worcester takes down Rochester to clinch winning season

9/21 Cup of Coffee: As the Minor League season draws to a close, Worcester jumped ahead early and took another lead late to clinch the fourth-straight winning season under manager Chad Tracy in the penultimate game of the year.

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Worcester Red Sox 4, Rochester Red Wings (WSH) 3

Worcester got a strong start from Jose De Leon, who allowed a single run in the fifth as he pitched 4 1/3 innings with three hits and four walks while tying a season-high with eight strikeouts. Coincidentally, De Leon also struck out eight hitters against Rochester back on June 8. While De Leon was dealing early, the WooSox plated three runs in the third. After Max Ferguson singled and Seby Zavala walked, Mikey Romero doubled to right field to plate Ferguson. The very next hitter, Kristian Campbell, who started in center field, doubled home Zavala and Romero. 

Leading 3-1 entering the seventh, Luis Perales struggled for the first time since returning from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander recorded a single out on a strikeout but walked a pair of batters. Perales only faced three hitters and threw just eight of his 18 pitches for strikes. Jacob Webb followed on the mound and was charged with a blown save as he allowed two runs that were charged to Perales. 

With the score even in the bottom half of the seventh, Ferguson broke the tie with his second home run in Worcester. Webb came out for the eighth and retired the side while working around a leadoff single, and Wyatt Olds closed the game out with a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season.

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Player of the Day: Max Ferguson had his fingerprints all over the WooSox's victory on Saturday. After scoring the first run of the game following a leadoff walk in the third, the former fifth-round pick slugged his second home run since being promoted to Worcester and his ninth across two levels. Since being brought up to the WooSox, Ferguson is slashing .250/.323/.429 in 18 games. He is currently unranked in the SoxProspects' Top 60 rankings. 

Photo Credit: Max Ferguson by Kelly O'Connor

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