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. 

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2026 Draft

Boston's draft was a bit of a departure from recent years, though their archetype of pitcher has remained the same. In each of the last two years, Boston only took one position player in the top three rounds. This year, they took a position player with each of the first three picks. This included University of North Carolina teammates (and roommates) Jake Schaffner and Owen Hull. Based on where these hitters were ranked, fans speculated that the Red Sox would generate some cap savings to use later on. That came to fruition with the Red Sox drafting Martin Shelar in the ninth round and Kaleb LaFavor in the 10th. 

Check out the SoxProspects.com Draft History page to find all selections from this draft (as well as past drafts). The News Page also has complete coverage, with write-ups on each player. Editor-in-Chief Mike Andrews posted his annual overview of the draft signing period, and his initial speculation on who will sign and for how much is posted on the SoxProspects.com Forum. 

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. Those ranking are available in the 2026 Draft Recap: How Boston's picks ranked post on the News page. 

New podcasts

It was a busy week for the SoxProspects.com Podcast, with a draft preview with Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo being posted on Thursday and a day one draft recap being posted early Sunday morning. A full episode recapping the draft is expected to drop shortly. 

Futures Game

A full recap of the All-Star Futures game is posted in Monday's Cup of Coffee, but the Red Sox were well represented by Franklin Arias and Anthony Eyanson. Arias drove in the game's first run, and Eyanson picked up the win. 

Transactions

• Pitching injuries continued to mount as Ranger Suarez was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left groin strain. In his absence, Eduardo Rivera got recalled for a spot start on Saturday against the Mets. Rivera threw 3 2/3 shutout innings, which was his longest outing since April 16. Brayan Bello (pictured, right) played a key role in Sunday's win after being recalled from Worcester. The 27-year-old struck out five and allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings of long relief. 
• The Red Sox had to play a man down for almost the entire week, as Nate Eaton missed the games on Tuesday and Wednesday against the White Sox, while Willson Contreras was suspended for the Thursday game against the White Sox and the entire three-game series versus the Mets. He will also miss the first game of the doubleheader on July 17 against the Rays. 
• Jack Anderson, who got designated for assignment last week, got claimed by the Twins. The right-hander posted a 3.38 ERA over eight innings in Boston this season. 
• With Worcester losing Rivera to Boston, Anderson to the Twins, and Zack Kelly to the injured list with right elbow inflammation, they needed to add reinforcements from Portland. Michael Sansone and Caleb Bolden both joined the WooSox and immediately got into game action. Bolden went from Worcester to Portland and back to Worcester in eight days. 

Injury updates

• In addition to Kelly, Danny Kirwin was placed on the injured list. There is no word on Kirwin’s injury, but he did miss time this season with a right shoulder strain. The team also got some bad news on Myles Patton who got transferred to the full-season injured list. He had been on the shelf since May with left forearm stiffness.
• It was not all bad news on the injury front, as each full-season affiliate got one player back. Matt Lloyd, Will Turner, Matt Duffy, and Ethan Walker all returned to action in the last week. Duffy made his return from Tommy John surgery, striking out five and allowing three runs in three innings for Greenville. 

Where are they now?

• Two players who were previously drafted by Boston got selected in again in 2026. Garrison Sumner was a 20th round selection in 2025, but returned to BYU for his senior season. He pitched to a 6.78 ERA but also struck out 85 batters over 66 1/3 innings and got drafted in the 13th round by the Orioles. 
• Right-hander Robert Orloski was drafted out of Middleton High School in Idaho by the Red Sox in the 20th round of the 2023 draft. He chose to go to University of Texas at San Antonio where he pitched for parts of three seasons. He had a 3.36 ERA over 72 1/3 innings as a sophomore and was an AAC First-Team All-Conference selection, but he recorded only two outs as a junior before suffering what appeared to be a significant arm injury. The Angels took him in the 16th round this year. 

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Players of the Week, July 6-12

Ronald Rosario, C/DH, Portland Sea Dogs

4 G, 16 AB, 8 H, 4 HR, 1 K, 4 R, 9 RBI, 1 SB, .500/.500/1.250

Rosario made the most of his four starts, belting four home runs and driving in nine runs while adding a rare stolen base. The 23-year-old from Venezuela is clearly a fan of the July heat, as his blistering start to this month follows winning the SoxProspects.com Player of the Month award last July. It has been a noted improvement for Rosario in his second stint with the Sea Dogs. He had a 1.048 OPS last July, but otherwise did not have another month with an OPS over .604 as he struggled to a .201/.278/.321 line on the season. He is now up to .278/.324/.462 in 2026. His strikeout and walk rates are consistent year-over-year, but he is hitting for more power this year while also having some improved luck with regards to his batting average on balls in play. Rosario is not currently ranked in our top 60, but he has been a big part of Portland jumping out to a first place lead in the second half standings of the Eastern League's Northeast division. 

Griffin Kilander, RHP, Greenville Drive

2 G, 1-0, 1 SV, 6 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K

It is a rare occurrence that a minor league pitcher collects a win and a save in the same week, but Kilander did just that as he helped the Drive win the series over Greensboro. His two appearances this week were almost a mirror image. Both outings went 3 1/3 innings while facing 11 batters. On Tuesday he threw 41 pitches with 25 strikes, and on Saturday he threw 40 pitches with 26 strikes. He recorded the final 10 outs in both games, with Saturday being especially impressive considering that covered innings eight through 11. The extra innings start with a man on second base, and Greensboro was not able to get that runner home in either frame. The 23-year-old has significantly increased his strikeout rate this season, though his walk rate still remains elevated. He is off to a fast start with Greenville following his promotion in June, pitching to a 1.12 ERA over his first 16 innings. 

Photo Credit: Anthony Eyanson and Brayan Bello by Kelly O'Connor

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