Three pitching prospects who the Red Sox acquired in under-the-radar trades within the past year have made significant leaps in the organizational rankings.

Boston received Yhoiker Fajardo, a 19-year-old righty, from the White Sox for reliever Cam Booser last Dec. 21. During the 2025 season, Fajardo jumped 29 spots on SoxProspects.com’s Top 60 list from No. 40 to No. 11.

The Red Sox acquired 22-year-old righty Matt McShane from the Pirates for reliever Chase Shugart in a minor trade Jan. 17. McShane began the 2025 season unranked but he’s now No. 41 on SoxProspects.com’s Top 60.

Boston received John Holobetz, a 23-year-old righty, from the Brewers on May 5 as the player to be named later from the Quinn Priester trade on April 7.

The Priester deal wasn’t an under the radar trade like the other two, with Boston acquiring outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez and the 33rd overall pick in the 2025 draft. But the player to be named later part of the deal a month later didn’t grab many headlines with an unranked Brewers prospect being sent to the Red Sox.

After a strong four-plus months in the Red Sox system, Holobetz is now No. 21 on SoxProspects.com’s Top 60 list. MassLive also recently named Holobetz as one of seven candidates to make his MLB debut in 2026.

Yhoiker Fajardo

The Venezuelan native began the 2025 season pitching in the Florida Complex League where he allowed just one earned run in 20 ⅔ innings (0.44 ERA) in six outings (four starts). He limited opponents to a .134 batting average and struck out 24.

The 6-foot-3, 181-pounder earned a promotion June 17 to Low-A Salem where he posted a 2.98 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .229 batting average against, 59 strikeouts and 20 walks in 13 starts (51 ⅓ innings).

“He’s a big kid, big frame,” Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham said. “I think we added some physicality to him, added some strength, added some weight. Saw his velo jump a few ticks during his time with us.”

Fajardo’s fastball was mostly around 95-96 mph and topped out at 97.8 mph this season. He sat around 93-95 mph with his fastball when Boston traded for him. Abraham said the increased velo “makes all his pitches more effective.”

“He has really good pitchability as well,” Abraham said. “He throws strikes, attacks the zone. A little bit inconsistent at times, but I think generally speaking he’s pretty consistent around the zone and his secondaries continue to improve.”

Fajardo’s slider was his most effective secondary pitch this season but his changeup was his most used pitch other than his fastball. He also added a sweeper toward the end of the season and Abraham said they “saw really good results with it.”

“He’s really focused on bettering each of those pitches in different ways,” Abraham said. “So really exciting young arm that improved throughout the season and really excited about what he’s shown so far.”

The Red Sox also have been impressed with his work ethic.

“Someone who’s able to take on information, grow, learn, make adjustments in-game, make adjustments from outing to outing,” Abraham said.

John Holobetz

Holobetz, a 2024 Brewers fifth round draft pick out of Old Dominion, has a fastball that reaches 97 mph, while also throwing a cut fastball, slider and changeup.

Boston promoted the righty to Double-A Portland on Aug. 6 where he posted a 2.39 ERA and 0.85 WHIP while holding opponents to a .205 batting average in six outings (five starts).

Overall, Holobetz posted a 3.03 ERA in 23 outings (19 starts) in Low A, High A and Double A combined during his first pro season.

“One of the focuses was like, let’s put on weight,” Abraham said about Holobetz, who’s listed at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds. “I know it’s hard to do during the season, but that’s been a focus. That will be a focus this offseason. Putting on weight, putting on strength. I think one of the things we really liked about him is he throws a ton of strikes.”

Holobetz averaged just 1.4 walks per nine innings and finished with a 4% walk percentage (20 walks, 499 batters faced) this season.

“He limits barrels,” Abraham said. “When he’s at his best, he’s getting strikeouts in the zone. That was a little bit of a challenge towards the end of the season. But I think it also was the jump into Double A, which was a little bit more difficult.”

His strikeout percentage dropped from 23.7% at High-A Greenville to 19.6% at Portland.

“We saw the velo continue to jump as he got into our programming,” Abraham said. “He throws a ton of strikes, limits walks, stays away from barrels. His cutter was strong. His slider was strong. His changeup was strong. All of his secondaries play really well. And his fastball that he’s able to work around the zone was really effective as well.

“He’s a competitor,” Abraham added. “He’s a bulldog. He wants the ball. I saw him pitch a bunch of times live, and he’s the type of guy that really wants the ball with the game on the line, and it’s always fun to watch those guys pitch and compete.”

Matt McShane

McShane, who the Pirates drafted in the 13th round in 2024 out of St. Joseph’s, began the season at Low-A Salem where allowed one earned run in 14 ⅓ innings (0.63 ERA) and held opponents to a .185 batting average.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder earned a promotion to High-A Greenville, where he posted a 3.54 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, .224 batting average against, 36 strikeouts and seven walks in 14 outings (28 innings).

McShane, who experienced some back soreness at the end of the year, posted a 31.6% strikeout percentage.

“He was really fastball/slider, really effective,” Abraham said. “He’s mid-90s and a hard slider that showed some sweep at times. But a guy who pounds the strike zone. Able to get swing and miss, limit barrels, doesn’t walk anyone. A lot of strikeouts, not a lot of walks and limiting barrels, that’s usually a good recipe for success, no matter what the pitch repertoire is.”

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