For the first time in a few years, the Red Sox are no longer sitting near the very top of the prospect-ranking food chain – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Two of the most respected evaluators in the industry released their annual farm system rankings on Thursday morning, and both landed Boston squarely in the same neighborhood.
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ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel slotted the Red Sox 11th overall, while The Athletic’s Keith Law came in just a touch higher at No. 10.
Different lenses, same conclusion:
This is no longer an elite, position-player-driven system, but it’s also one that looks very different than it did even a year ago.
That shift is intentional.
McDaniel’s evaluation underscores just how much the Red Sox have graduated from the system in a short window. Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell are no longer theoretical building blocks. They’re big-league contributors.
Before them came Carlos Narváez, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Jarren Duran, leaving Boston with a system that no longer boasts waves of elite bats at the top of industry lists.
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In fact, McDaniel points out that the organization has just one position player – Franklin Arias – ranked inside the top 200 prospects in baseball.
On its face, that might look alarming.
In context, it’s a byproduct of a front office that has aggressively turned prospect capital into major-league talent. The Red Sox used former first-round position players to land Garrett Crochet, moved another top-200 bat to acquire Johan Oviedo, and leaned into pitching with their top selections in the 2025 draft. That’s how you end up with fewer shiny hitters on prospect lists – and a roster that’s far closer to contention.
Pitchers Payton Tolle (left) and Connelly Early (second from left) stand for the national anthem ahead of Triple-A Worcester’s game at Polar Park on Aug. 21, 2025 (WooSox Photo/Ashley Green /USA TODAY NETWORK/Imagn Images)
Law’s ranking reinforces that same theme, but from a different angle.
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For years, he had the Red Sox system graded lower than fans wanted to see because of one glaring flaw: there was no pitching.
Now, in a relatively stunning pivot, Law describes Boston as a “pitching development powerhouse,” complete with multiple left-handed starters on the Top 100 list who took massive steps forward in 2025.
That’s the 180.
The Red Sox didn’t just rebalance their system – they flipped it entirely.
Instead of hoarding bats and hoping pitching emerges, Boston has built an infrastructure that develops arms, then supplements the lineup through graduations and trades. It’s not the sexiest farm system in baseball anymore, but it’s arguably one that better matches where the organization actually is on the competitive timeline.
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Ranking 10th or 11th doesn’t scream dominance. What it does signal is something far more important:
The Red Sox are no longer building for some distant future. They’re cashing in on it – and reshaping their pipeline to support what comes next.
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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He’s a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.