{"id":113976,"date":"2026-02-12T15:10:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T20:10:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=113976"},"modified":"2026-02-12T15:10:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T20:10:32","slug":"five-under-the-radar-prospects-to-watch-in-fort-myers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/02\/12\/five-under-the-radar-prospects-to-watch-in-fort-myers\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Under the Radar Prospects to Watch in Fort Myers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the Super Bowl happening this past weekend, that wraps up football season, meaning baseball\u2019s right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers for the Boston Red Sox reported to Fort Myers on Tuesday, with the rest of the squad reporting on Sunday. This year\u2019s Spring Training will be a little different, however. With the World Baseball Classic happening this year, some players will be playing for their country and missing the preseason. Some of the players are fan favorites, while others could be minor leaguers. Nevertheless, with players leaving to represent their country, there will be some names to look out for in Fort Myers for the Red Sox.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Who Will Miss Spring Training?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&#8217;s discuss who won&#8217;t be there first. With the WBC taking place from March 5th to March 17th, it\u2019s unlikely that any of these players will take part in the preseason. However, exhibition games do take place early in the tournament. The Red Sox players (with their position with Boston) participating in the WBC are:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Red Sox in WBC:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/whitlga01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Garrett Whitlock<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, RHP, United States<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranja01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jarren Duran<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, OF, Mexico\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/abreuwi02.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wilyer Abreu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, OF, Venezuela\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/contrwi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Willson Contreras<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 1B, Venezuela\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/suarera01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ranger Suarez<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, LHP, Venezuela\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bellobr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brayan Bello<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, RHP, Dominican Republic<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/y\/yoshima02.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Masataka Yoshida<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, OF\/DH, Japan\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rafaece01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ceddanne Rafaela<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, OF, Netherlands<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/weissgr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greg Weissert<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, RHP, Italy\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/moranjo01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jovani Moran<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, LHP, Puerto Rico\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/e\/eatonna01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nate Eaton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, UTIL, Great Britain\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=anders012jac\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jack Anderson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, RHP, Great Britain\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/guerrta01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tayron Guerrero<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, RHP, Colombia\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/chengts01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tsung Che-Cheng<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, IF, Chinese Taipei<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Looking at this group, right off the bat, the starting outfielders from Opening Day last year are all going, as well as some key pitchers. While there might be some disappointment that someone\u2019s favorite player won\u2019t be in Fort Myers, there\u2019s always the chance of a non-roster player or a guy on the 40-man to break out. Just look at <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thomptr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trayce Thompson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> last year. He hit .300 and tied for the MLB lead in homers during this span (six). Here are some under-the-radar breakout candidates to look out for over the next few weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Possible Breakout Candidates:<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Jacob Webb, RHP<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the rotation and bullpen diminishing during the WBC, all eyes could be on <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tollepa01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Payton Tolle<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/e\/earlyco01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Connelly Early<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And rightfully so, seeing as they had tremendous contributions to push Boston into the playoffs. But with the number of pitchers given up this offseason, such as <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dobbihu01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hunter Dobbins <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=sandli002dav\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David Sandlin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, most of the young pitching depth that <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/redsox\/2025\/12\/as-teams-come-looking-for-starting-pitching-red-sox-have-some-extra-to-deal.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Craig Breslow claimed to have<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has been traded away. So now it\u2019s time for some younger guys to prove their worth, starting with this preseason. <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=webb--009jac\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jacob Webb<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one of those guys who could be big for them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drafted in 2021, the right-hander has worked his way up through the system the past couple of years. While his ERA this season in Worcester wasn\u2019t the best (6.35), he had a really good overall year. In 2025, he played in Greenville, Portland, and Worcester. The majority of his games were in Portland, where he had a 2-1 record in 10 games out of the bullpen with a 3.26 ERA. As a starter in 2024, he went 10-3 in Portland, but had a 4.28 ERA with 38 earned runs in 80 innings.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His transition from starter to bullpen over the past couple of seasons has decreased his stats. Webb seems to be a stronger pitcher later in the game, <a  href=\"https:\/\/baseballsavant.mlb.com\/savant-player\/jacob-webb-701288?stats=splits-r-pitching-milb&amp;season=2025\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">allowing just four of his 16 earned runs in the seventh inning or later in 2025<\/a>. Although he probably won\u2019t be on the opening day roster, Webb could work his way to Worcester and be a viable relief option should someone go down late in the year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Vinny Capra, INF<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The obvious choices for infield breakouts are someone like <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=romero000mik\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mikey Romero<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0or top 100 prospect <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=arias-008fra\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Franklin Arias<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/capravi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vinny Capra<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> signed with the Red Sox in November, and despite his poor performance at the major league level last year, he could get a chance in Fort Myers this year. The problem with him is his position. The middle infield is stacked already with young players who want a chance. This includes Arias, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/02\/09\/caleb-durbin-to-boston-trade-details-and-how-he-fits\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">newly acquired Caleb Durbin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/campbkr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kristian Campbell<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, to name a few.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He split part of the year with Milwaukee and the White Sox, having a batting average of .125 in the majors and an OBP of .157. However, that was only across 47 games. He also played part of the season with Chicago\u2019s AAA affiliate, the Charlotte Knights. It\u2019s a limited sample size, but across 24 games, he hit .286 and has an OPS of .824. Fielding-wise, he only had one error in Charlotte across four positions. He has played in the outfield, but the majority of the games were in the infield. Capra may have struggled in the majors, but his short tenure in the minors last year could be the perfect match for spring training if given the chance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Allan Castro, OF<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For those who haven\u2019t been keeping up with the Red Sox\u2019s minor league system, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=castro000all\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Allan Castro<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has been one of the more talked-about names approaching this year\u2019s Spring Training. The 22-year-old signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2019. This past season, he <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.milb.com\/portland\/news\/sea-dogs-announce-2025-team-award-winners\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">won the Portland Sea Dogs MVP award for the team<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, hitting .268 with an OBP of .353. In addition, he walked 44 times and had 29 extra-base hits. This was all in 92 games of a possible 138. With all of the starting outfielders out, this is a huge opportunity for someone like Castro to break out and be put on people\u2019s radars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Nate Baez and Nathan Hickey, C<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=baez--000nat\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nate Baez <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=hickey001nat\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nathan Hickey<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are bonus picks, as the Red Sox are pretty good on catchers currently as is. Both major league catchers are very good defenders (particularly <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/n\/narvaca01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carlos Narvaez<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). But when it comes to the bats, neither of them stands out over the other. Narvaez hit .241 and had close to a 25% K rate, as well as a ground ball rate of 44.3%. And<\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wongco01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Connor Wong<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s struggles were no secret, batting .190 and not getting his first extra base hit till late July. His only consistent playing time was when Bello was pitching, but still, not great.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, these two are pretty good minor league options. Hickey is more of a power hitter, hitting 17 homers and driving in 75 runs in Worcester. He has a .325 OBP to go with 59 walks and 23 doubles. However, Hickey bats lefty, which shouldn\u2019t be an issue, but Boston has a lot of lefties in their lineup currently. This is Spring Training, though, and with the number of people to cover, there could be opportunities for him to hit. The bigger issue, though, is that he hits .234. With that average, it really does feel like boom or bust with him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, there\u2019s Baez, who, while not much of a power guy, is definitely the better hitter. In 96 games between High-A and Double-A in the Twins system, he hit .278 to go along with a .371 OBP. He hit 29 extra-base hits, eight of which were homers. Defensively, he played almost as much first base as he did catcher, and was actually better there. The fielding% was .997 (one error) at 1st, compared to .984 (six errors) at catcher. He\u2019s also a right-handed hitter, balancing out with <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/casastr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tristan Casas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019 left-handed power, should Casas be ready, although he\u2019s more expected for Opening Day while recovering from his left knee injury.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While most of the stars will not be in Fort Myers over the next couple of weeks, that doesn\u2019t mean there are fewer players to be excited for. Keep an eye out for these five players during Spring Training starting in a week and a half.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Main Photo Credit: The News Press<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the Super Bowl happening this past weekend, that wraps up football season, meaning baseball\u2019s right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers for the Boston Red Sox reported to Fort Myers on Tuesday, with the rest of the squad reporting on Sunday. This year\u2019s Spring Training will be a little different, however. With the World [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5767,"featured_media":113988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1071,4,35],"tags":[6119,28463,28425,29135,1854,28251,6294,6296,2577,3029,28602,6081,1308,28646,3009,898,2021,1478,28456],"class_list":["post-113976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-redsox","category-news","tag-brayan-bello","tag-carlos-narvaez","tag-ceddanne-rafaela","tag-connelly-early","tag-connor-wong","tag-craig-breslow","tag-garrett-whitlock","tag-greg-weissert","tag-jacob-webb","tag-jarren-duran","tag-kristian-campbell","tag-masataka-yoshida","tag-mlb-prospects","tag-payton-tolle","tag-ranger-suarez","tag-trayce-thompson","tag-triston-casas","tag-willson-contreras","tag-wilyer-abreu"],"modified_by":"Augustus Oswald, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5767"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113976"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113989,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113976\/revisions\/113989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}