In addition to Franklin Arias, Red Sox power-hitting prospect Brooks Brannon was also named a 2026 Eastern League All-Star by Minor League Baseball on Monday.
Brannon spent all of 2026 with Double-A Portland after first reaching the level last summer, though his season debut was pushed back until late April due to a broken left hamate bone that required surgery in March.
Despite the delay, Brannon went on to have the best season of his professional career to date. In 93 games for the Sea Dogs, the right-handed hitting 22-year-old batted .280/.355/.560 with a team-leading 28 doubles, two triples, a team-leading 22 home runs, a team-leading 70 RBIs, 50 runs scored, two stolen bases, 39 walks, and 115 strikeouts over 398 plate appearances. He slashed .298/.371/.566 in 311 plate appearances against righties and .218/.299/.538 in 87 plate appearances against lefties.
Among 47 qualified hitters in the Eastern League this season, Brannon ranked first in isolated power (.280) and slugging percentage, second in line-drive rate (27.8%), OPS (.915), and wOBA (.392), third in wRC+ (133), sixth in batting average, and 13th in on-base percentage, according to FanGraphs.
Defensively, Brannon saw the lion’s share of his playing time for Portland this year come at first base. Making a team-leading 77 starts at first, the 5-foot-11, 210-pounder committed six errors in 518 chances. He also made 13 starts at DH and went the entire season without logging any innings behind the plate, a first for him.
To go along with Eastern League All-Star honors, Brannon was also the recipient of the Sea Dogs’ 2026 Charlie Eshbach Citizen of the Year award earlier this month for “his outstanding commitment to the community and those around him.”
“Throughout the season, Brannon consistently demonstrated a willingness to give back, including volunteering at the free youth baseball clinic hosted by the Red Sox Foundation at Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field, where he worked directly with young players and signed autographs for kids,” the team wrote in a statement. “He also shared his personal experiences with fans during the Sea Dogs’ Faith & Family Night. Whether interacting with fans at the ballpark, supporting staff members, or encouraging his teammates, Brannon consistently displayed genuine care, compassion, and kindness, making a positive impact both on and off the field.”
Brannon was originally selected by the Red Sox in the ninth round (279th overall) of the 2022 draft out of Randleman High School in North Carolina. A highly-regarded catching prospect at the time, he received a well-over-slot $712,500 signing bonus to forgo his commitment to UNC. Prior to this season, in which he matched a career-high in games played and set a new career-high in plate appearances, he had struggled to stay on the field consistently due to a slew of injuries.
After opening 2026 as SoxProspects.com’s 53rd-ranked Red Sox prospect, Brannon has since moved up 15 spots to No. 38 in the organization. As the publication notes, the fact that Brannon has seemingly moved away from catching puts “far more pressure on his hit tool to improve and allow him to tap into his impressive power,” which requires more contact and less chase to “play to its potential.”
Brannon, who will not turn 23 until next May, can become Rule 5-eligible for the first time this winter if he is not added to Boston’s 40-man roster by the November protection deadline. If Brannon remains in the organization — either by being added to the 40-man roster or by going unselected in the Rule 5 Draft (if there is one) — SoxProspects.com currently projects him to return to Portland to start 2027. In that scenario, however, he should have the chance to reach Triple-A Worcester before long.
(Picture of Brooks Brannon: Bryce Mosmen/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
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