Where Does Boston Red Sox Farm System Rank After Trade Deadline?
After the blockbuster trade for Adley Rutschman, the Red Sox farm system has taken a major hit in the latest rankings.
Video Transcript
What's up everyone?
Zach Coe here for Roundtable.
The Boston Red Sox entered the twenty twenty-six trade deadline with the ninth-ranked farm system in the sport, according to Baseball America, headlined by three top one hundred prospects, shortstop Franklin Arias, who is the number three prospect in the sport at the time, and pitchers Anthony Eyinson, who checked in at number thirty-four, and Kyson Witherspoon, who was ranked as the ninety-eighth best prospect in the sport.
Of course, Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow expended many of his prospect chips, dealing Eyinson, Witherspoon, and sixth-rated prospect in the Red Sox system, Endy Azocar, to acquire three-time All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman ahead of the trade deadline.
And as a result, the Red Sox system took a massive hit in BA's August farm system rankings, falling all the way down to the number twenty-one farm system in the sport.
With the departure of Eyinson and Witherspoon, hard-hitting outfielder Justin Gonzalez becomes the new second-ranked prospect in the sport.
He got a cup of coffee in the top one hundred list in May, but a slow month caused him to fall off.
In eighty-five games for High-A Greenville, the nineteen-year-old is hitting two sixty-six with an eight thirty-six OPS, with fifteen home runs, which is eleven more than the four he hit during his first season playing in the United States in twenty twenty-five.
Gonzalez is followed by fellow international signee, catcher Franklin Primera, who, aside from Arias, may be the biggest arrow-up prospect in the entire Red Sox organization.
He entered the season not ranked in soxprospects.com's organizational top thirty before skyrocketing all the way up to number three, thanks to tearing up the Florida Complex League before being promoted to Single A Salem, where he's continued to perform well.
Hard-throwing pitcher Juan Valera is right behind Primera, checking in as the number four prospect in the Red Sox organization.
He's been out since May after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but appeared to be on the brink of a breakout campaign before going down with that injury, allowing only two earned runs on four hits through nine and a third innings in Greenville while striking out seventeen batters.
The top five is rounded out by twenty twenty-five second round pick, infielder Henry Godbout, who is just returning from surgery for a broken left hand that he sustained in late May.
He was rehabbing with Single A Salem before being promoted to Double A Portland, where he made his debut on Tuesday night.
The top ten is rounded out by a pair of twenty twenty-six draftees, Jake Schaffner and Owen Hull, followed by eighteen-year-old pitcher Sadiel Delzin, and right-handers John Holobitz and Marcus Phillips.
While it certainly lacks the high-end talent that it had before the deadline, the Red Sox system is still filled with plenty of high-ceiling players.
