As the Boston Red Sox season has been underway for about ten games now, the minor league season has started around the past week or so. One particular team, the Greenville Drive, started on Thursday. The High-A affiliate for Boston will be a team to keep an eye on, at least for the beginning of the season. This is because of the Red Sox’s top 30 prospects, eight of whom are at this level. This makes them the most stacked team in the organization and one of the most talented in all of MiLB. Here’s the breakdown of the eight, in order of where they’re ranked on the Red Sox prospect list (according to MLB).
Top Red Sox Prospects in High-A
Tier 1: Top 10 Prospects
Kyson Witherspoon
Top 100 Rank: #84
Kyson Witherspoon is the most recent first-round pick for the Red Sox and the fourth-best prospect. Not pitching at all in the latter half of last season, his last full season comes from his time at Oklahoma. The former Sooner had an ERA of 2.65 in his junior season, as well as having a SO/9 of 11.7, a very impressive number considering the competition he faced in conference play.
While assigned to rookie ball, he worked with a baseball training lab called Driveline. While training with them, he was able to pick up a new pitch in a sweeper. Not only that, but he added 20 inches of horizontal break to it as well, something that rarely occurred in the minors last year. Despite control issues, with his improvements and pitch arsenal, he could move up to Portland if he performs well.
In his High-A debut, he did struggle, letting up four runs in just over three innings pitched. He only struck out two batters as well, which seems uncharacteristic. However, this is the first regular-season game of his professional career. It’s a step up from college competition. He’ll have to adjust, but he shows promise.
Juan Valera
The fifth-ranked prospect and a 2023 international free agent, Juan Valera, hasn’t had the best start to his minor league career. In Greenville, he let up 23 earned runs in 38 innings. This led to an ERA of 5.45. However, he did strike out 28% of the batters he faced. And he’s got a good mix of pitches. His slider can reach 93, his changeup has swing and miss potential, and his fastball reaches 98 miles per hour. He’s still improving his control and lacks consistency outside his fastball and slider. But he is only 19 years old, and can be taught more.
His start on Opening Day looked promising, though. Despite letting up two runs (on two hits), he struck out seven hitters, including three in the first inning. He showed some dominance between Rookie and Single-A ball in 2024, and there’s no reason that he can’t get back there with the right development.
Justin Gonzales (#6 Prospect)
The 2024 signee broke onto the scene quickly with Salem, capturing the Carolina League batting title with Salem at .298. He did flash decent speed, stealing 11 bases. However, he has trouble showing power. He had one of the worst ground ball rates in all of the minors last year at 57%, according to MLB Pipeline. Currently, he’s batting .286 with two homers, but has more strikeouts (five) than hits (four). His bat needs to improve. Should that be the case, some think the 19-year-old can get an opportunity as early as 2028.
Marcus Phillips (#9 Prospect)
Marcus Phillips isn’t projected till around 2028, but the flamethrower reliever has been making a name for himself early on in his professional career. With a power slider in the high 80’s-low 90’s and a killer 92 MPH changeup. His pitch arsenal is elite. The 21-year-old does have control issues, however, especially when throwing strikes. He can be a good pitcher and a good bullpen piece, but his control has to be intact. In his one appearance on Saturday, he picked up the loss, letting up four runs (three earned) in two-thirds of an inning. He’s got good stuff, though; it’s just all about the control and composure with him.
Anthony Eyanson (#10 Prospect)
The former Big West product out of UCSD transferred to LSU last season, and that decision turned out to be one of the best he’s made. During the last college baseball season, he went 12-2 with an ERA of 3.00. In addition to that, he struck out 152 in just 108 innings, a mark that was third best in all of Division 1. However, his move to trick hitters by aiming for the corners may be what made him fall from a projected first-rounder to the third round. Regardless, the Red Sox look like they got a steal in this past year’s draft. In his debut on Saturday, he went three innings, striking out six batters and letting up only one run. If this outing shows anything about what he can become, he should move through this system with ease.
Tier 2: The Rest
Henry Godbout (#11 Prospect)
Now, it may be a small sample size, but if Henry Godbout builds off of what he did in Salem last season, watch out. The second baseman hit .341 in 15 games, also walking nine times and having an OBP of .473. He does need to work on his power a bit more, and he thinks he can, given the development system. He is more of a contact guy, but he does have moments that show off his power, including this home run during Spring Breakout. It’s just getting that consistently that matters. Godbout hasn’t made his Greenville debut yet, but when he does, he’ll certainly be a name to watch for.
Yoeilin Cespedes (#18 Prospect)
Despite struggling last year with a .227 average and 15 errors at second base, Yoelín Cespedes moved up to Greenville for the 2026 season. And he’s off to a hot start. In the three games the team’s played, he’s batting .500 with four doubles and two runs scored. In addition, he only has one error thus far. It’s early, but if this is any sign of a bounce-back season, the 20-year-old who garnered Howie Kendrick comparisons could be a borderline top 10 prospect at the end of the year.
Gerardo Rodriguez (#27 Prospect)
Although cold to start the season, batting just .111, Gerardo Rodriguez is a good bat in the system. He batted .285 last year between Salem and the Florida Complex League, getting 24 extra base hits and striking out only 36 times. Defensively, he’s also off to a slow start, going only one for nine on caught stealing attempts. However, he caught 34% of runners last year, so there is plenty of room for improvement.
For those who are fans of minor league baseball or just seeing what players teams have up their sleeves, the Greenville Drive has plenty of talent this season to keep an eye on. All of these guys could see Boston in the near future.
Main Photo Credit: Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
