When Craig Breslow was hired as chief baseball officer, one of his top priorities was assembling a pitching pipeline that could produce a consistent flow of homegrown arms capable of impacting the big league club — something the Red Sox have historically lacked.
Less than two years into his tenure, that pipeline is close to bearing fruit.
Within the last week or so, three of Boston’s top pitching prospects have been promoted to Triple-A, with David Sandlin and Connelly Early getting the nod first before Payton Tolle earned his own call over the weekend. The trio is now one step away from the majors, and recently Breslow identified all three as guys who could potentially factor into the big league equation as soon as September.
That plan already appears to be in motion.
After allowing one run in five innings in his Triple-A debut, Sandlin was moved into a relief role in preparation for a possible call-up. He made his first appearance out of the bullpen on Tuesday, allowing two runs over 1.1 innings, and if he can adjust to his new role it’s tantalizing to imagine Sandlin blowing away big league hitters with his 99 mph fastball during a playoff race in September.
That’s not the kind of luxury the Red Sox have had often over the past few years.
Originally acquired in the John Schreiber trade during the spring of 2024, Sandlin was among the first of the new wave of arms Breslow brought in following his arrival. Many of those early acquisitions have already made an impact and played a role in helping this year’s team survive a run of injuries that might have sunk previous clubs.
Richard Fitts, who has a 3.79 ERA in 14 career starts dating to last September, was acquired in the Alex Verdugo trade alongside Greg Weissert, who has been a key reliever the past two seasons.
Kyle Harrison, a 23-year-old lefty who already has 35 big league starts under his belt, came aboard in the Rafael Devers trade. He has yet to appear in the majors for Boston, but he provides another high-upside depth arm who could step in if something goes wrong down the stretch.
The Red Sox have also placed a heavy emphasis on pitching over the past two drafts, selecting 29 pitchers out of 41 selections over that stretch, including Tolle and Brandon Clarke last year and this year’s trio of Kyson Witherspoon, Marcus Phillips and Anthony Eyanson, each of whom were selected within the top 100 picks.
Not all of those picks will pan out, but if recent history is any indication several could pop and by this time next year could represent the next crop of young arms ready to impact a possible playoff run.
Beyond all of those new arms, Boston has benefitted from the development of several pitchers who predated Breslow’s arrival. Most notable among that group is Hunter Dobbins, who emerged as a crucial depth arm before suffering a torn ACL last month, and Early, who now ranks as the club’s No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
The end result? Boston’s system is now as flush with pitching talent as it’s been at any point in recent memory, and the payoff could be right around the corner.
Red Sox outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia was recently named International League Player of the Week. (Courtesy of the Worcester Red Sox)
Triple-A: ‘Password’ keeps raking
Top Red Sox outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia has crushed the ball ever since his promotion to Triple-A in May, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down.
Boston’s No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline was batting .312 with 15 home runs, 47 RBI and a .976 OPS in 55 games at Triple-A entering Wednesday, and he was recently named International League Player of the Week for the week of July 28 to Aug. 3 after batting .417 with four doubles, four homers and 13 RBI in six games.
Kristian Campbell has also broken out recently following a rough stretch after his demotion from the majors. Over the last 30 days he’s batting .321 with four home runs and a .921 OPS over his last 22 games. Vaughn Grissom is hitting similarly well, batting .286 with five home runs and an .871 OPS over that same month-long stretch.
Former first-round pick Mikey Romero was promoted to Triple-A on Aug. 1 after batting .254 with eight home runs, 40 RBI and a .756 OPS in 66 games at Double-A.
Red Sox prospect Miguel Bleis, a potential five-tool standout, was recently promoted to Double-A Portland. (Kelly O’Connor photo)
Double-A: Bleis called up
The Portland Sea Dogs have seen a huge amount of roster turnover these past few weeks, with Sandlin, Early, Tolle and Romero all earning Triple-A promotions while outfield prospects Zach Ehrhard and James Tibbs III — who was originally acquired in the Devers trade — were shipped off at the deadline as part of the Dustin May deal.
But while all of those standouts have moved up, fans in Maine can look forward to one notable name making his way north.
Miguel Bleis, a potential five-tool outfield standout who currently ranks as Boston’s No. 12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was recently promoted to Portland after hitting 13 home runs with 20 stolen bases in 77 games with High-A Greenville. Bleis has so far gotten off to a loud start in Portland, hitting a home run and two doubles in his first four games with the Sea Dogs.
While not as well-known as Sandlin, Early or Tolle, Hayden Mullins and Dalton Rogers have both been rock-solid for the Sea Dogs over the past month. Each threw 20.1 innings over their last four starts entering Thursday, with Mullins posting a 1.33 ERA over that stretch and Rogers a 2.66 mark.
Former BC High standout Shea Sprague has pitched well since being promoted to High-A Greenville. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
High-A: Aita, Sprague making noise
For all the attention Tolle has gotten over the past few months, Blake Aita and Shea Sprague have been pretty good in their first seasons of professional baseball too.
Aita, Boston’s sixth-round pick last year, and Sprague, picked in the 13th round, both earned midseason promotions to High-A Greenville after strong starts in Low-A Salem and have held their own at the higher level. Aita has posted a 2.81 ERA over 41.2 innings through his first eight starts in Greenville, and overall the 22-year-old right-hander has a 3.59 ERA in 18 starts on the season. His 92.2 innings pitched leads all Red Sox minor leaguers.
Sprague, a Hanover native who starred at BC High, has a 3.55 ERA through his first seven High-A appearances, including four starts. The 22-year-old lefty has a 4.01 ERA on the season, with 72 strikeouts in 75 innings.
Brandon Clarke, another standout from last summer’s draft class who currently ranks No. 81 on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list, is coming off a rough month but still has 40 strikeouts through 26 innings at High-A.
Franklin Arias, who will become Boston’s top position player prospect following the elevations of Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, is batting .286 with five home runs, 11 stolen bases and a .732 OPS on the season. The 19-year-old infielder got off to a scorching start in Low-A and lately has worked to adjust to the High-A level since his late-April promotion.
Nelly Taylor, one of Boston’s top defensive outfield prospects, ranks second in the Red Sox system with 27 stolen bases on the year.
Low-A: Fajardo keeps dominating
Yhoiker Fajardo was one of the youngest players with any full-season minor league affiliate following his promotion from the Florida Complex League in June, and since then the 18-year-old has continued to establish himself as one of the fastest risers in the system.
Through eight starts with Low-A Salem Fajardo boasts a 3.56 ERA with 25 strikeouts through 30.1 innings, and over the past month he’s really taken off. In his last four starts entering Thursday he’s allowed just one earned run over his last 20 innings, holding opposing batters to a .191 average over that stretch.
Prior to his promotion he also had an 0.44 ERA in six FCL appearances, and since being acquired for left-hander Cam Booser this past offseason he’s proven himself an absolute steal.
Fellow 18-year-old Justin Gonzales has also been putting on a show, leading Salem with 25 hits over the past 30 days while posting a .309 average and .817 OPS over that stretch.
One other to watch going forward? Former Belmont Hill star Jack Winnay, the 13th-round pick out of Wake Forest in last month’s draft, was recently assigned to Salem and made a strong first impression, going 5 for 10 (.500) with a home run and a double in his first three games at Low-A.