The Boston Red Sox have had a lackluster start to the season. As of May 9th, they have a record of 17-22. Given pitching injuries, that seems okay. But they struggled in pretty much every aspect of the game in April. They seem to be turning it around now, post-Alex Cora. But the management shakeup isn’t the only news happening. All around their organization, there have been some stories to come in as well.
Juan Valera Out for Year
Going into the regular season, there were four Red Sox prospects ranked in the top 100 of all of MiLB. Connelly Early graduated from this list, and Payton Tolle has as well. That leaves Franklin Arias and Kyson Witherspoon in the MLB’s top 100 list. But on Baseball America’s list, Juan Valera managed to sneak his way in as well. The hard-throwing right-hander just made the list at #100 for the April edition (paywall included).
The current third-best prospect in the Red Sox system had a great start to the season in Greenville, having an ERA of 1.93 and striking out 47.2% of batters he faced. In a game against the Bowling Green Hot Rods, he left in the first inning. But the initial thought was that he avoided serious damage to his elbow, and he would be out for two weeks. However, it appears that Valera’s season is officially over. Per Christopher Smith, Valera is now out for the season as he is undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Red Sox pitching prospect Juan Valera underwent Tommy John surgery
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) May 6, 2026
It’s certainly a shame to see a prospect of his caliber have the majority of a season taken away from him, but seeing as he’s had inflammation issues before this season, it’s best to take care of it while he’s still young. The 19-year-old has a lot of potential and can shoot up through the system once he comes back.
Anthony Eyanson’s Meteoric Rise in 2026
Although the Red Sox lost one top 100 pitcher this season, they gained another in Anthony Eyanson. The 3rd round pick from last year’s draft started the season unranked in Baseball America’s top 100 in April and is now a top 50 prospect in the May Edition. Like Valera, he was part of a stacked Greenville squad to start the season, but has since moved up to Portland.
Anthony Eyanson, Top 100 Prospect ✅
The @RedSoxPlayerDev RHP surges into the top 50 in today’s update.
New Top 100: https://t.co/AhNarjQWnI pic.twitter.com/yu7YSCrGeW
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 6, 2026
Although he did not register a win in Single-A, he had an astonishing 0.44 ERA in five starts. His dominance was shown even more with his K-BB ratio. At 34 strikeouts to three walks, his ratio is at 11.33 SO/BB. The former LSU pitcher struck out 152 batters in 108 innings in his junior year. He has not made his Double-A debut yet, but should he succeed there, the rise through the system will be one to watch for sure.
Pair of Moves in Worcester
Triple-A Worcester’s been active with movement recently, too, particularly in the pitching department. First up, with Sonny Gray returning from his injury suffered in mid-April, Worcester called left-hander Alec Gamboa back on their squad. Gamboa was recently brought up this past week to take over for Danny Coulombe, who had an IL stint of his own. Gamboa did well in his one appearance with the Red Sox, coming in to finish the game on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers. He had a shutdown inning, striking out two of the first three batters he faced in his major league debut.
Welcome to the Big Leagues 👏
Alec Gamboa strikes out Zach McKinstry for his first Major League strikeout 🥳 pic.twitter.com/ZhL2D7jjYU
— NESN (@NESN) May 6, 2026
Secondly, the Red Sox signed left-hander Raymond Burgos to a minor league contract. Burgos has been around since 2016, mostly struggling with the Cleveland Guardians and San Francisco Giants. In 2022, he did well in the Guardians’ Single-A affiliate, the Lake County Captains. With them, he went 8-3 out of the bullpen with a 2.08 ERA. From there, he bounced back and forth between the Giants’ minor league system and the Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican League. While he struggled in both, including some semi-pro leagues in the ‘25-’26 offseason, he did seem to have a small bounceback in the WBC.
With Puerto Rico, he only pitched 3 ⅔ innings, but he managed a 2.45 ERA. That may seem bad as there’s limited data on him. But with Oaxaca this season, he had a 5.25 ERA in 12 innings. So it’s lower with one less appearance.
The Last Word
Over the first month of the minor league season (roughly, depending on level), there’s already been a bunch of big news. Some bad, like losing a pitcher, but also some good, like an unexpected breakout. Surely, there will be more to come through the year, but as of now, the Red Sox minor league system should be moving upwards in the rankings.
Main Photo Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
