After coming over from the White Sox in a February trade, Gage Ziehl made more starts and pitched more innings than any other Red Sox minor leaguer in 2026. This article will take a look at how the 23-year-old right-hander fared during his first season with the organization.
Acquired from Chicago for fellow righties Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin (as well as cash considerations), Ziehl opened the 2026 campaign at Double-A Portland but got off to a rocky start. He struggled to a 5.94 ERA through his first seven starts (33 1/3 innings) for the Sea Dogs before turning a corner as the calendar flipped from May to June.
From May 31 onward, Ziehl posted a 3.21 ERA with 61 strikeouts to 11 walks in his next 10 starts (47 2/3 innings) for Portland before being promoted to Triple-A Worcester on August 4. He then closed out an eventful season by pitching to a 4.17 ERA with 33 strikeouts to seven walks over eight starts (41 innings) for the WooSox in his first go-around at the minors’ highest level.
Altogether, then, Ziehl forged a 4.28 ERA with 129 strikeouts to just 25 walks in 25 starts (122 innings) between Portland and Worcester. Opponents batted .269/.314/.448 against him. That includes a .287/.342/.502 line from right-handed hitters and a .249/.283/.391 line against left-handed hitters.
In addition to leading Red Sox minor leaguers in starts and innings pitched, Ziehl stood out in several other categories as well. Among the 50 pitchers in the organization who threw at least 50 innings this season, the righty ranked third in walks per nine (1.84) and walk rate (4.8%), fifth in groundball rate (52.1%) and xFIP (3.71), 15th in WHIP (1.27), 17th in ERA, and 21st in FIP (4.28), according to FanGraphs.
A University of Miami product, Ziehl was originally selected by the Yankees in the fourth round (119th overall) of the 2024 draft. He received a $637,000 signing bonus and made his professional debut last April before being traded to the White Sox for Austin Slater less than four months later. In February, as he was preparing for the start of spring training, he was on the move yet again.
“The whole trade experience here was a bit crazy,” Ziehl recalled to SoxProspects.com’s Andrew Parker in August. “I trained in Florida over the offseason and had already shipped my car to Arizona for White Sox camp. I was about to board my connecting flight to Arizona when I got a call asking if I had already booked a flight out. I had already boarded and [was] on the runway when I got a call from the assistant general manager from Chicago saying I had been traded. I couldn’t get off the plane by this point. So, I made my flight, shipped my car to Fort Myers, and was there the next day.”
Since joining the Red Sox organization, Ziehl has worked to lower his arm slot and revamp his diverse arsenal. This season, the 6-foot, 223-pound hurler featured a six-pitch mix consisting of a newly implemented 85-88 mph changeup and 90-94 mph sinker, as well as a 91-93 mph fastball that topped out at 95 mph, an 88-91 mph cutter, an 82-84 mph sweeper, and a 79-80 mph curveball.
On the heels of his second full professional season, Ziehl is currently ranked as Boston’s No. 17 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 21 by SoxProspects.com. Baseball America, meanwhile, does not include him among the organization’s top 30 prospects.
Barring a trade or other move this winter, SoxProspects.com projects that Ziehl — who will not turn 24 until next May — will return to Worcester to begin the 2027 season. Given his ability to fill the strike zone, limit walks, and get outs, however, there is reason to believe he could earn a big league opportunity with the Red Sox at some point.
(Picture of Gage Ziehl: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
