April 16, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Scouting Report Updates: Mikey Romero, Juan Valera and Brandon Clarke
While updating our scouting reports is a year-round endeavor, our trip to Spring Training provides us with one-stop access to watch players from all levels of the system, including our first chances to see players who have yet to head out to a full-season affiliate. After getting this extended sample and talking to numerous trusted sources, we come back with a wealth of information from which we make substantial updates to our scouting reports. After spending the past few weeks making a ton of updates to our player pages, cataloged as always in our Scouting Log, we wanted to highlight some of the most noteworthy here on the News Page. Today, we look at some players who made substantial jumps in our season-opening rankings update based on what we learned from camp.
Current ranking: 6th
Prior ranking: 13th
Physical Description: Athletic frame with some remaining projection. Has filled out some since he signed, but looked particularly more physical in camp in 2025 after his first normal offseason, with a more filled-out lower half and stronger upper body.
Hit: Starts square with his hands high. Smooth, controlled swing. Solid-average bat speed. Limited stride. Quick hands. Makes solid contact, especially against right-handed pitchers. Struggles against left-handed pitching. Aggressive approach. Hunts fastballs early in the count and has the tendency to expand against secondary pitches, especially changeups. Needs to tighten up his chase rate and make more contact on pitches in the zone. Potential average hit tool.
Power: Showed sneaky power for his size prior to 2025, and added strength entering this season looks like it could lead to further improvement to his all-fields power. Can elevate the ball and drive it, especially to the pull side. Solid-average raw power. Average game power.
Run: Below-average speed. Solid instincts, but not a major part of his game.
Field: Soft hands and strong instincts at shortstop. Average actions. Makes the routine plays and shows average range. Unlikely to be a standout defender, but is a potential fringe-average defender at shortstop. Could be average-to-better at second or third base.
Arm: Average arm strength. Passable on the left side of the infield.
Summation: Potential bat-first platoon infielder. Ceiling of an everyday infielder with positional versatility. Showed more power than expected while sacrificing contact to get there in 2024, but came to camp in 2025 showing much more contact ability without sacrificing any power. Needs to continue to show that tightened-up approach and that he can make consistent contact to reach his potential. If he can make those adjustments has a bat-first profile with averageish defensive potential.
Current ranking: 7th
Prior ranking: 19th
Physical Description: Sturdy, developed pitcher's frame with some remaining projection in his upper body. Lower half looks the part. Physically mature for his age.
Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm slot starting on the third base side of the rubber. Delivery works. Uses a simplified wind-up. Even without runners on, throws from a position close to the stretch, facing third base and taking only a small step toward first before coming up and to the plate. Will sometimes pause at the top of his leg kick to vary his timing to the plate, especially with two strikes. Medium leg kick. Long arm swing behind, but clean coming forward. Lands on line to the plate and does a good job repeating his delivery. Very quick arm.
Fastball: 96-98 mph. Tops out at 100 mph. Four-seam fastball is most effective up in the zone, where it shows substantial bat-missing ability. Explosive offering with a high spin rate. Shows cut at times also. Command is a work in progress, but already shows surprising feel for the zone for someone who throws as hard as he does. Potential plus-plus pitch with improved command and control.
Slider: 89-92 mph. 10-to-4 break primarily, but varies his slot, giving the pitch different shapes. Will get on top of it when looking to add more depth and on the side when looking to have it run more horizontally. Flashes the ability to land it for strikes and bury it down and out of the zone when looking for whiffs. Potential average-to-better pitch.
Sweeper: 86-88 mph. Long, horizontal shape with minimal depth. Can blend in with his slider at times. High spin rate. Needs to find consistency with it in the zone. Potential fringe-average offering.
Changeup: 91-94 mph. Shape varies. Some look like two-seam fastballs, while others have substantial fade and some drop. Still looking to find consistency with it, especially the ability to keep it competitive. Flashes bat-missing ability. Potential average-to-better offering with refinement.
Summation: Has the early makings of a potential high-end starting pitching prospect. Has a lot of development remaining and a high-variance profile, but already is one of the two highest-ceiling arms in the Red Sox system. Stuff looks dramatically improved heading into the 2025 season. Has the build you look for, along with premium velocity, even though he will be still only 18 when the regular season starts. Secondary arsenal is a work in progress, but changeup and breaking balls already flash potential. Continued refinement of secondaries will be key for him to reach his potential.
Current ranking: 19th
Prior ranking: 34th
Physical Description: Ideal pitcher's frame. Long limbs. Looks listed height and weight and has some remaining projection.
Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters slot, starting on the third base side of the rubber. Low release height and gets good extension to the plate. Substantial effort in delivery. High leg kick. Long arm action with some deception behind. Very quick arm. Head whack and harsh recoil.
Fastball: 96-99 mph. Tops out at 100 mph. Easy velocity, but on the straight side with fringy characteristics. Command and control are works in progress. Potential plus-to-better offering.
Slider: 87-90 mph. Flashes bat-missing ability and tight, 2-to-8 shape. Can really snap off with tight rotation at its best. Has trouble landing in the zone in some outings. Potential average offering with improved consistency.
Sweeper: 81-85 mph. Long, horizontal break. More of a pitch that he is looking for whiffs on than one he can consistently land in the zone. Potential fringe-average offering.
Changeup: 87-89 mph. Looks like a fastball he took something off of. On the firm side with inconsistent shape. Tends to slow down his arm and telegraph the pitch. On occasion, shows some drop. Work in progress. Potential below-average offering.
Summation: Potential multi-inning leverage reliever. Ceiling of a mid-rotation starter. Very intriguing left-hander who has the frame and velocity that allow you to dream on his considerable upside working in the Red Sox pitching development program. Will be developed as a starter initially. Secondaries need work, with his slider flashing the most potential right now. Fastball/slider combination could easily play in a bullpen role. Needs to develop a third pitch and improve his fastball command to stick as a starter long-term.
Photo Credit: Mikey Romero, Juan Valera and Brandon Clarke by Kelly O'Connor
Ian Cundall is Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter/X @IanCundall and on Bluesky @iancundall.bsky.social.