Seven Red Sox players made their major league debut in 2025, and MassLive had predicted five of them would.
In November 2024, MassLive ran a story highlighting nine prospects — Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel, Hunter Dobbins, Connelly Early, Chase Meidroth, David Sandlin and Bryan Mata — who were strong candidates to make it to the big leagues in ’25.
Of the nine prospects, all but Sandlin and Mata debuted. Teel and Meidroth, who were traded to the White Sox in the Garrett Crochet deal, made their debuts with Chicago. Campbell, Mayer, Anthony, Dobbins and Early debuted with Boston.
Payton Tolle and Jhostynxon García also debuted for Boston in 2025 but MassLive had not listed them as candidates.
Let’s take another crack at it. Here are seven prospects who could make their major league debuts in 2026:
1) Luis Perales, RHP: The 22-year-old righty, who is already on Boston’s 40-man roster, has an electric fastball. He has topped out at 101.1 mph in the Arizona Fall League and the 15 heaters he threw in his most recent start for Salt River averaged 99.3 mph.
Not too shabby considering Perales just returned to minor league games in September after almost 15 months recovering and rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
He has walked eight batters in eight innings in the AFL, but control/command was an issue even before his injury. Perales, who Baseball America ranks Boston’s No. 8 prospect, has averaged 4.7 walks per nine innings in 47 minor league outings. He’ll need to improve his command to remain a starter.
He likely will begin 2026 in Triple-A Worcester’s starting rotation and as one of Boston’s depth starters. His elite velo and swing-and-miss stuff also could give him an opportunity out of the Red Sox bullpen in ’26.
2) David Sandlin, RHP: MassLive predicted the 24-year-old righty would debut in 2025, but he didn’t make it. The 2026 season should finally be his year.
He worked primarily as a starter in the minor leagues before Boston moved him to the bullpen in early August in hopes that he might be able to help the 2025 club down the stretch with his triple-digit fastball. But Sandlin struggled, posting a 5.55 ERA in 18 relief outings.
He is Rule 5 Draft eligible this offseason, meaning the Red Sox must add him to the 40-man roster by Nov. 18 or else he’ll be available to other teams in December’s Rule 5 Draft. He’s expected to be added.
During his exit interview with Red Sox staff before heading home for the offseason, his coaches reminded him of his strong performance as a starter before his transition to the bullpen.
“We also told him he’ll be better for it,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said in September. “He’ll face adversity, it won’t be the last time you get kicked while you’re down. But he’ll bounce back.”
His long-term role is still to be determined but Sandlin experienced uncharacteristic control/command issues as a reliever and he has some work to do this offseason after his strikeout percentage dropped from 33.2% in 2024 to 23.4% in 2025.
3) John Holobetz, RHP: The 23-year-old was an interesting in-season addition in 2025.
Boston acquired him May 5 as the player to be named later in the Quinn Priester trade from April 7.
Holobetz, a 2024 Brewers fifth round draft pick out of Old Dominion, pitched well after joining the Red Sox system. His fastball reaches 97 mph and he also throws a cut fastball, slider and changeup.
Boston promoted him to Double-A Portland on Aug. 6 where he posted a 2.39 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in six outings (five starts). He also held Double-A hitters to a .205 batting average.
Overall, Holobetz posted a 3.03 ERA in 23 outings (19 starts) between Low A, High A and Double A combined in his first pro season. He averaged just 1.4 walks per nine innings and finished with a 4% walk percentage (20 walks, 499 batters faced).
He likely will begin 2026 in Double-A Portland’s starting rotation.
4) Kyson Witherspoon, RHP: The 2025 first-round draft pick makes this list even though he hasn’t thrown a single pitch in pro ball yet.
He could take a similar trajectory to Payton Tolle’s in 2025. Tolle, a 2024 second rounder, had never thrown a pitch in pro ball before beginning ‘25 at High-A Greenville and finishing it with Boston.
Baseball America actually named Witherspoon one of 12 draft prospects who could make his MLB debut in 2026. The 21-year-old righty said his goal is to make it to the majors “as fast as possible.”
Witherspoon is already No. 62 on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list. His fastball that reaches 99 mph as well as his cutter, curveball and slider are already considered plus pitches.
MassLive named Witherspoon one of five Red Sox prospects who are breakout candidates in 2026.
5) Mikey Romero, IF: The 2022 first-round draft pick spent significant time early in his minor league career on the injured list with a lower back injury. He was limited to 34 games in 2023 and 78 games in 2024.
The left-handed hitter’s 2025 numbers don’t jump off the page. He batted just .232 with a .276 on-base percentage, .469 slugging percentage and .745 OPS in 45 games at Worcester after a promotion there on Aug. 1. He had a .752 OPS in 111 games combined between Double-A Portland and Worcester.
But Romero is still very young as he’ll be 22 years old all next season. He also showed big power against Triple-A pitching during September, belting five home runs and seven doubles while slugging .547 in 18 games. He finished the season with the third most home runs (17) in the Red Sox minor league system behind only Jhostynxon Garcia (21) and Freili Encarnacion (18).
He should participate in his first major league spring training camp as a non-roster invitee in 2026. He’ll be part of the middle infield depth at Worcester, just one call away from the big leagues.
6) Tyler Uberstine, RHP: The 26-year-old is Rule 5 Draft eligible this offseason after a breakout season in 2025.
Uberstine has an incredible story. He was not recruited out of high school after pitching just seven innings as a senior. He initially enrolled at USC as a regular student/non-athlete and studied business. But he hit a growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore year of college. He tried to walk on to the USC baseball team his sophomore year but didn’t make it. He eventually transferred to Northwestern where he earned a spot in their starting rotation his first year there in 2020.
The 2021 Red Sox 19th-round draft pick has continued to overcome challenges in pro ball. He missed the entire 2023 season and most of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
He posted a 3.58 ERA in 25 outings (21 starts) in 2025 between Double-A Portland and Worcester combined. Nineteen of those outings came with Worcester.
He throws a mid-90s fastball, a new cutter that he added during his Tommy John surgery rehab, a sweeper and a changeup.
7) Shane Drohan, LHP: The 26-year-old lefty has a chance to make his MLB debut in 2026 but will it be with the Red Sox?
Drohan is Rule 5 Draft eligible for a third straight year.
The White Sox selected him in the Rule 5 Draft at the 2023 Winter Meetings, but they returned him to Boston on June 12, 2024, after he underwent shoulder surgery that February.
Unsurprisingly, no team selected him in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft after he pitched just 16 ⅓ innings that season.
But teams might be interested this offseason if the Red Sox don’t add him to the 40-man roster by Nov. 18.
He pitched really well in 2025 for Worcester, although staying healthy remains a concern. He missed more than three months with left forearm inflammation in ‘25.
When he was healthy, he posted a 2.27 ERA and 1.01 WHIP while holding opponents to a .185 batting average in 12 outings (11 starts). He recorded an impressive 35.3% strikeout percentage.
Drohan induces a lot of swings-and-misses with a fastball, cutter, changeup, slider and curveball.
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