Tag: catching prospects

Which prospect did Red Sox acquire from White Sox for Chris Murphy?

As part of a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday, the Red Sox acquired three minor leaguers in three separate trades with the White Sox, Rockies, and Mariners.

This article will focus on Boston acquiring catching prospect Ronny Hernandez from Chicago for left-hander Chris Murphy.

Hernandez, who turned 21 earlier this month, spent the first four seasons of his professional career in the White Sox organization after originally signing with the club as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in June 2022. The Turmero native made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League shortly thereafter, then followed that up by earning Arizona Complex League All-Star honors in 2023.

After impressing in rookie ball, Hernandez made the jump to Low-A Kannapolis in 2024 and repeated the level in 2025. In 82 games for the Cannon Ballers this season, the left-handed hitter batted .251/.344/.366 with 12 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 34 RBIs, 33 runs scored, four stolen bases, 45 walks, and 75 strikeouts over 355 plate appearances. That includes a .161/.242/.196 line against lefties and a .271/.365/.467 line against righties.

On the other side of the ball, Hernandez made a team-high 64 starts at catcher for Kannapolis this year. In the process of logging 550 innings behind the plate, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound backstop committed 10 errors and allowed four passed balls while throwing out 37 of 152 possible base stealers. He also made 18 starts at DH.

Hernandez was not ranked among the White Sox’ top 30 prospects by publications such as Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, but should nonetheless provide the Red Sox with much-needed catching depth in the lower minors. He is a candidate to open the 2026 campaign with High-A Greenville and can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time at season’s end.

(Picture of Chris Murphy: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Who is Jorge Rodriguez? Red Sox C prospect ‘the FCL’s premier catch-and-throw artist’

In a ranking of the top 25 prospects in the Florida Complex League so far this season by Baseball America’s Josh Norris, Red Sox minor league catcher Jorge Rodriguez claimed the No. 7 spot.

Rodriguez, 19, has opened eyes on both sides of the ball in his first season stateside. The native Venezuelan originally signed with the Red Sox for just $10,000 as an international free agent coming out of Maracay in January 2024. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League last June but did little to stand out on paper, as he slashed .258/.333/.280 (76 wRC+) with no home runs and seven RBIs in 31 games.

This year has been a different story for Rodriguez. Even when taking a slightly delayed start and a chilly July to this point into consideration, the right-handed hitter is still slashing .296/.367/.420 (114 wRC+) with one double, three home runs, 17 RBIs, 10 runs scored, eight stolen bases, eight walks, and 16 strikeouts through 27 games (90 plate appearances) for the rookie-level FCL Red Sox.

Among the 142 FCL hitters who had made at least 90 trips to the plate coming into play on Wednesday, Rodriguez ranked 10th in batting average, 17th in slugging percentage, 26th in OPS (.787), 32nd in wOBA (.385), 35th in strikeout rate (17.8 percent), and 46th in wRC+, per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Rodriguez has primarily been splitting time behind the plate with fellow countryman Gerardo Rodriguez for Boston’s FCL affiliate. The 5-foot-10, 147-pound backstop has logged 93 innings there thus far, throwing out 16 of 41 possible base stealers, allowing two passed balls, and committing three errors in 103 chances. He has also made 11 starts at DH.

Rodriguez, Norris wrote on Wednesday, “is the FCL’s premier catch-and-throw artist, with an arm capable of regularly producing pop times well under 1.90 seconds. His pure arm strength is at least double-plus, with the only knock being how well the operation will hold up against the rigors of a full season.

“Despite a smaller stature, Rodriguez does an excellent job of finding the barrel and producing solid or better exit velocities,” added Norris. “In the end, he could be an average hitter with fringe-average power and the kind of arm that puts the brakes on attempted base burglars.”

Rodriguez, who just turned 19 in February, is not currently regarded among Boston’s top prospects by Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, or FanGraphs. He did, however, recently debut on SoxProspects.com’s top 60 list at No. 44, which ranks third among catchers behind only Johanfran Garcia (No. 36) and Brooks Brannon (No. 41).

In addition to Rodriguez, outfielder Enddy Azocar (No. 13) and right-hander Yhoiker Fajardo (No. 20) made Norris’ top 25 Florida Complex League prospect rankings as well. Both have received promotions to Low-A Salem in recent weeks, and with the FCL season winding down, Rodriguez is likely not too far behind them.

(Picture of Jorge Rodriguez: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Kleyver Salazar among 7 unranked prospects to make Red Sox ‘Spring Breakout’ roster

On Thursday, the Red Sox unveiled their roster for their upcoming ‘Spring Breakout’ matchup against the Rays next week.

While Boston will be sending a plethora of top talents from a loaded farm system to Port Charlotte for the second annual prospects showcase next Thursday, several unheralded Red Sox minor-leaguers will be making the trip from Fort Myers as well.

Of the 27 players on the Red Sox ‘Spring Breakout’ roster, seven are not currently ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline. Of those seven, 18-year-old catcher Kleyver Salazar stands out as someone who has yet to suit up for a full-season affiliate.

Salazar, who turns 19 in May, is the younger brother of former Red Sox (and current Cardinals minor-leaguer) Johnfrank Salazar. The native Venezuelan originally signed with Boston for $175,000 as an international free agent in January 2023 and made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League before moving up to the Florida Complex League in 2024.

In 49 games (183 plate appearances) for the FCL Red Sox, Salazar batted .226/.333/.374 with seven doubles, two triples, four home runs, 31 RBIs, 22 runs scored, two stolen bases, 25 walks and 40 strikeouts. The right-handed hitter ended his season on a particularly high note by slashing .313/.389/.500 with three home runs and 15 RBIs over 20 games (72 plate appearances) in July.

Though a .708 OPS (95 wRC+) on the year is far from eye-popping, Salazar did rank 21st in isolated power (.148) and 32nd in walk rate (13.7 percent) among 71 qualified FCL hitters, per FanGraphs. He also led the way in fly-ball rate (55.7 percent), which suggests that he may have gotten under the ball quite a bit.

Defensively, Salazar split his playing time on the field between catcher and first base last year. The 6-foot-1, 187-pound backstop logged a team-high 168 2/3 innings behind the plate for the FCL Red Sox, allowing eight passed balls and throwing out 14 of 49 possible base stealers. In 16 starts as a first baseman, he committed just two errors in 98 chances.

Salazar joins Brooks Brannon and Ronald Rosario to make up the catching contingent on Boston’s ‘Spring Breakout’ roster. He is currently projected by SoxProspects.com to return to the FCL for the start of the 2025 season, though his assignment could change to Low-A Salem if fellow backstop Johanfran Garcia (who underwent season-ending ACL surgery last May) is not fully ready to go when camp breaks next month.

(Picture of Kleyver Salazar: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox’ Johanfran Garcia emerges as organization’s top catching prospect following Kyle Teel trade

After the Red Sox included Kyle Teel in the five-player trade that netted them frontline starter Garrett Crochet from the White Sox last month, Johanfran Garcia emerged as the highest-ranked catching prospect in the organization heading into 2025.

Garcia got off to a blazing hot start at the plate in 2024 but saw his season come to an abrupt end on May 1 when he was carted off the field at Low-A Salem after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee while running the bases. The then-19-year-old was placed on the full-season injured list on May 8 and underwent season-ending surgery shortly thereafter.

Garcia, who turned 20 in December, had been one of the top performers in the lower minors before suffering the injury. In 14 games for Salem (Boston’s Carolina League affiliate), the right-handed hitter batted a stout .385/.467/.596 with five doubles, two home runs, five RBIs, five runs scored, six walks, and 15 strikeouts over 60 plate appearances.

At season’s end, Garcia was one of 254 hitters who made at least 60 trips to the plate in the Carolina League. Among those 254, he ranked first in batting average, OPS (1.063), wOBA (.498), and wRC+ (207), second in slugging percentage, fourth in on-base percentage, eighth in line-drive rate (32.4 percent), and 12th in isolated power (.212), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Garcia unsurprisingly saw all of his playing time on the field in 2024 come at catcher. The 5-foot-11, 196-pound backstop logged 85 innings behind the plate for Salem, allowing two passed balls and throwing out six of 32 potential base stealers. He also made four starts at DH and has past experience at first base.

The younger brother of Red Sox outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia (who was added to the 40-man roster in November), Johanfran originally signed with Boston for $850,000 as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in January 2022. The Valencia native is currently regarded by MLB Pipeline as the organization’s No. 17 prospect, eight spots below his older brother.

When making a recent appearance on Boston Sports Entertainment Network’s ‘The Pesky Podcast,’ Garcia (through interpreter and former Red Sox player development coach Fabian Castorena) said that he is feeling “much better now” and “is working to get back to the field.” In terms of where he is at in the rehab process with his right knee, he said that he is “about 65 to 70 percent ready to go.”

Since he is coming off major knee surgery and spent much of this past year rehabbing in Fort Myers, the Red Sox will likely exercise caution when it comes to Garcia’s status leading into the start of spring training next month. With that being said, he is projected by SoxProspects.com (who has him ranked 15th in the system) to open the 2025 season at High-A Greenville.

(Picture of Johanfran Garcia: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox catching prospect Johanfran Garcia to undergo season-ending knee surgery

Red Sox catching prospect Johanfran Garcia has a “significant knee injury” and will have season-ending surgery, according to reports from MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Garcia was placed on Low-A Salem’s full-season injured list earlier this week after injuring himself last Wednesday. The 19-year-old ripped a line drive single to left field in the seventh inning of Salem’s 6-4 loss to Myrtle Beach but fell to the ground while rounding first base. He had to be carted off the field and was initially diagnosed with a right knee sprain.

Further imaging revealed a more serious prognosis that will ultimately require Garcia to go under the knife. Red Sox director of player development could not immediately offer a timetable for Garcia’s return when speaking with MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam on the most recent episode of the Fenway Rundown podcast.

“Unfortunately, with some more testing and some information we received, it’s a significant knee injury and he’s going to be out for the season,” said Abraham. “I don’t have details exactly on the injury but it’s unfortunate for him. He’s been one of our best performers, offensively and defensively. He continues to improve and was making a ton of progress.”

Garcia is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 13 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks second among catchers in the organization behind only 2023 first-round draft selection Kyle Teel. The native Venezuelan originally signed with the Red Sox for $850,000 as an international free agent coming out of Valencia in January 2022.

Before getting hurt last week, Garcia had gotten his 2024 campaign off to a roaring start. In 14 games for Salem to begin the year, the right-handed hitter batted a stout .385/.467/.596 with five doubles, two home runs, five RBIs, five runs scored, six walks, and 15 strikeouts over 60 plate appearances.

On the other side of the ball, Garcia made 10 of his 14 starts at catcher this season. In the process of logging 85 innings behind the plate, the 5-foot-11, 196-pound backstop allowed two passed balls while throwing out six of 32 possible base stealers.

Garcia, who does not turn 20 until December, could have emerged as an intriguing trade candidate this summer had he stayed healthy. Instead, he will have to shift his focus toward rehabbing and getting ready for 2025 once he is cleared to resume baseball activities.

(Picture of Johanfran Garcia: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox catching prospect Ronald Rosario a late addition to Boston’s Spring Breakout roster

Ronald Rosario was a late addition to the Red Sox’ roster for Saturday’s inaugural Spring Breakout showcase against the Braves at JetBlue Park.

As a result of fellow catching prospect Brooks Brannon being removed from the roster for an undisclosed reason, Rosario was officially added to Boston’s roster on Thursday, per his MiLB.com player profile page. The 21-year-old did not get into the game itself on Saturday, with Kyle Teel and Johanfran Garcia handling things behind the plate in the seven-inning exhibition, but it was surely a nice distinction for a lesser-known minor-leaguer such as Rosario.

Unlike Brannon, Teel, Garcia, and Nathan Hickey (who started at DH on Saturday), Rosario is not regarded by outlets such as SoxProspects.com as one of the top catching prospects in Boston’s farm system. The native Venezuelan originally signed with the Red Sox for $50,000 as an international free agent coming out of Palo Negro in July 2019 and was sparingly used after making his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League two years later.

On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out the 2020 minor-league campaign, Rosario appeared in just six Dominican Summer League games as an 18-year-old in 2021. He saw more playing time the following season in the Florida Complex League, but was still limited to 20 games and 51 plate appearances with Boston’s Fort Myers-based affiliate.

It was not until last season that Rosario began to establish himself as more of a regular. The right-handed hitter broke camp last spring as Low-A Salem’s Opening Day catcher and batted .250/.389/.429 with five doubles, one triple, one home run, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored, 12 walks, and 22 strikeouts over his first 17 games (72 plate appearances) before earning a promotion to High-A Greenville in early May.

With Greenville, Rosario slashed .260/.344/.377 with 12 doubles, two triples, three homers, 33 runs driven in, 35 runs scored, one stolen base, 27 walks, and 74 strikeouts in 62 games (247 plate appearances) to close out the regular season. He then capped off a strong playoff run by clubbing the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning (and catching the final out) of the Drive’s South Atlantic League title-clinching victory over the Hudson Valley Renegades at Fluor Field on September 19.

All told, Rosario produced at a .258/.354/.388 clip (108 wRC+) with 17 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 44 RBIs, 45 runs scored, one stolen base, 39 walks, and 96 strikeouts in 79 total regular season games (319 plate appearances) between Salem and Greenville last year. Defensively, the 6-foot, 175-pound backstop logged 610 2/3 innings behind the plate in 2023 and threw out 30 of 160 possible base stealers while allowing 14 passed balls and committing 19 errors.

As highlighted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Rosario can best be described as a “fringe-average” defender who “doesn’t have the softest hands and can be error prone.” Last June, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote that Rosario “is a good receiver/framer with a 40 arm and ground game.”

Given that he is prone to making mistakes behind the plate, one has to wonder if a position change could be in store for Rosario at some point. He got into eight games as a first baseman for the FCL Red Sox in 2022, but would really need to hit in order to stick there moving forward.

Rosario, who just turned 21 in January, is expected to return to Greenville for the start of the upcoming 2024 minor-league season. Depending on how he fares in his second stint with the Drive, he could put himself in position to make the jump to Double-A Portland before year’s end.

(Picture of Ronald Rosario: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

After injury-shortened 2023 season, Red Sox catching prospect Brooks Brannon set to take part in inaugural Spring Breakout

When looking at the Red Sox’ roster for next weekend’s inaugural Spring Breakout game against the Braves, one of the names that sticks out is Brooks Brannon.

Brannon was one of four catching prospects to make the Red Sox’ 28-man roster, joining Kyle Teel, Nathan Hickey, and fellow 19-year-old Johanfran Garcia. He is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 29 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Brannon, who turns 20 in May, is coming off an injury-shortened 2023 campaign in which he was limited to just 17 total games between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Salem. The right-handed hitter flashed intriguing power in that brief sample, however, as he slashed .264/.303/.583 with three doubles, one triple, six home runs, 23 RBIs, 12 runs scored, four walks, and 20 strikeouts over 77 plate appearances.

After returning to the FCL for the start of his first full professional season, Brannon slashed .250/.294/.542 with three doubles, one triple, three homers, 14 runs driven in, eight runs scored, three walks, and 12 strikeouts in 11 games (52 plate appearances) for Boston’s rookie-level affiliate. He then received a promotion to Salem in late June and went 7-for-24 (.292) with three more home runs, nine RBIs, four runs scored, one walk, and eight strikeouts across six games.

Following the major-league All-Star break, Brannon started at designated hitter for Salem in its matchup against the Delmarva Shorebirds on July 14 and went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts. Due to a lingering back strain, though, that would ultimately prove to be his final game of the season.

Brannon was placed on Salem’s 7-day injured list on July 29 and then transferred to the 60-day injured list on August 8. He took part in the Red Sox’ fall performance program in September. There, at the Fenway South complex in Fort Myers, Brannon told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith that his top priority in 2024 is to stay healthy.

“The No. 1 goal is just to be healthy the whole year,” Brannon said. “I just want to play the whole year. That’s the No. 1 goal. Outside of that, I’ll be looking to improve everything about my game until I’m done playing.”

Brannon was originally selected by the Red Sox in the ninth round of the 2022 amateur draft out of Randleman High School in North Carolina. On the heels of leading all high schoolers with 20 home runs as a senior, Brannon forwent his commitment to the University of North Carolina by signing with Boston for an above-slot for $712,500, which is more in line with what a third-round pick typically receives.

As noted in his Baseball America scouting report, Brannon “has plenty of pull power when he connects,” but his career 6.5 percent walk rate thus far “points to the need to control his aggressiveness and refine his swing decisions.”

Brannon, for his part, acknowledged that he is working to improve on his approach and swing decisions when speaking with Smith last fall.

“Getting into pro ball, I definitely matured as a hitter,” he said. “Guys just don’t throw 85 down the middle with an average breaking ball anymore. Guys throw gas and they can put it wherever they want. It sinks and it runs and it rises. Part of maturing was picking certain zones to hit depending on the pitcher and playing to my strengths. I’d say another part of maturing was I’m naturally a high energy, aggressive person and having to tone that back a bit because it worked against me. So having to calm down a bit.”

On the other side of the ball, Brannon unsurprisingly saw all of his playing time on the field last year come at catcher. Between the FCL and Salem, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound backstop logged 75 innings behind the plate and committed just one error while throwing out seven of 28 possible base stealers.

Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, which ranks Brannon as the Red Sox’ No. 23 prospect, laude the Tar Heel State native for his “plus arm strength and quick feet behind the plate.” They also praise him for having strong hands and relentless work ethic, but acknowledge that he is “overly active as a catcher and his framing and blocking skills will have to improve” if he intends on sticking behind the plate moving forward.

To that end, Brannon told Smith in September that improving defensively was “going to be a focus in every aspect of catching this offseason” after he struggled “a lot” in that area last year.

Barring a surprise and assuming he remains healthy, Brannon is expected to return to Salem for the start of the 2024 minor-league season. In the more immediate future, Brannon should get the chance to showcase his skills when he and his fellow Red Sox prospects host the Braves’ top prospects at JetBlue Park next Saturday afternoon.

(Picture of Brooks Brannon: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox catching prospect Nathan Hickey aiming to stick behind plate long-term

He may no longer be viewed as the top catching prospect in the Red Sox’ farm system, but the 2023 season was still a productive one for Nathan Hickey.

Hickey, Boston’s fifth-round selection in the 2021 amateur draft, came into 2023 ranked by Baseball America as the No. 15 prospect in the organization after producing a .936 OPS in 75 games between Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville the year prior. The Florida product returned to Greenville for the start of his second full professional season last spring but his stay there was short-lived.

In just 18 games with the Drive, Hickey batted a stout .294/.402/.588 with six doubles, one triple, four home runs, nine RBIs, 13 runs scored, 12 walks, and 20 strikeouts over 82 plate appearances. The left-handed hitting 24-year-old then received a promotion to Double-A Portland alongside infielder Chase Meidroth in early May.

Though his production dipped somewhat, Hickey still slashed .258/.352/.474 with 18 doubles, 15 homers, 56 runs driven in, 49 runs scored, three stolen bases, 40 walks, and 91 strikeouts in 80 games (335 plate appearances) for the Sea Dogs. Among the 75 hitters who made at least 300 trips to the plate in the Eastern League last year, Hickey ranked 29th in walk rate (11.9 percent), 20th in batting average, 23rd in on-base percentage, 10th in slugging percentage, ninth in OPS (.826), 10th in isolated power (.216), 32nd in line-drive rate (19.9 percent), 28th in swinging-strike rate (11.1 percent), and seventh in wRC+ (127), per FanGraphs.

On the heels of earning Eastern League All-Star honors, Hickey headed out west with a contingent of eight other Red Sox prospects to play in the Arizona Fall League. The lone catcher in that group, Hickey appeared in 16 games for the Glendale Desert Dogs, going 10-for-55 (.182) with one double, one RBI, five runs scored, 15 walks, and 24 strikeouts. He finished in a two-way tie for the team lead in walks while putting up the fourth-highest on-base percentage.

Defensively, Hickey saw the majority of his playing time at all three of his stops last year come at catcher. Between Greenville and Portland, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound backstop logged 646 innings behind the plate, but only managed to throw out 10 of 139 potential base stealers while allowing seven passed balls and committing 12 errors. In the AFL, he gunned down three of 21 would-be base stealers while splitting reps with the Mets’ Kevin Parada and the Twins’ Andrew Cossetti.

To that end, it remains to be seen if Hickey will be able to stick behind the plate moving forward. The questions regarding his future position became even more prevalent after the Red Sox selected Kyle Teel, who has quickly emerged as one of baseball’s top catching prospects, with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft.

Brian Abraham, Boston’s director of player development, was asked about that in a conversation with The Athletic’s Chad Jennings earlier this month. Abraham acknowledged that: “We definitely have had some conversations with Nathan, before even Kyle Teel was here, about seeing him elsewhere.”

Hickey, a native of Jacksonville, grew up as an infielder. Before assuming full-time catching responsibilities at Florida, he also played a little first and third base in his time with the Gators. The Red Sox, according to Abraham, still plan on having Hickey catch “quite a bit” this upcoming season, but first base — and possibly other positions — are on the table as well.

“Being athletic behind the plate will allow him to be athletic at another position, whether that’s first base or elsewhere,” Abraham told Jennings. “And really, the bat is his driver. The bat is what’s going to allow him to have success in the big leagues. So, for us, it’s imperative to find the place for him with the ability he has to impact the baseball.”

Hickey, for his part, has embraced “the challenge of his position and plays with an edge to prove doubters wrong,” per his Baseball America scouting report from last February. He was also able to work with Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson, who previously served as Boston’s catching coordinator for 12 years, after being promoted to Portland.

“I want to improve on being able to keep strikes strikes and just be able to gain some strikes,” Hickey told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith back in August. “And I want to be able to control the pitching staff, which I feel like this year compared to last year, I’ve done a lot better job this year of being able to control the starters and the relievers and the new guys coming in. Just being able to be more all-around as a catcher rather than just be good at one thing.”

Hickey, who — like Teel — participated in the Red Sox’ recent rookie development program, is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Portland for the start of the 2024 campaign. As he explained to Smith, Hickey would prefer to catch long-term, but he understand that the decision is not necessarily be in his control.

“If they were like, ‘Hey, we’re going to put you at second,’ I would 100 percent try to be the best second baseman that I could be,” Hickey said. “It’s more I want to catch in Boston because Boston is top tier of baseball — of any org in MLB. I want to be able to just help the team win but I want to be able to catch in Boston.”

(Picture of Nathan Hickey: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

How did Red Sox catching prospect Kyle Teel fare in pro debut?

Kyle Teel has wasted little time in establishing himself as the top catching prospect in the Red Sox farm system.

After a storied three-year career at the University of Virginia, Teel was selected by Boston with the 14th overall pick in last summer’s amateur draft. The 21-year-old was viewed by most industry publications as the best catcher in his class and entered the professional ranks with lofty expectations as a result.

Though he supported the Yankees while growing up in suburban New Jersey, Teel officially signed with the Red Sox for exactly $4 million on July 21. Shortly after putting pen to paper and taking batting practice at Fenway Park, the Mahwah native headed south to Fort Myers to prepare for his highly-anticipated pro debut.

On August 3, Teel debuted for the rookie-level Florida Complex League Red Sox in their game against the FCL Orioles in Bradenton. He went 0-for-2 in that contest, but followed that up by hitting his first professional home run as part of 2-for-4 performance against the FCL Twins two days later. On the same day he went 0-for-2 with a walk in a 9-1 loss to the Orioles on Aug. 7, it was revealed that Teel would be making the direct jump to High-A Greenville.

Skipping Low-A Salem entirely as a result of that decision, Teel was inserted into Greenville’s lineup for the first time on Aug. 8. The left-handed hitter immediately strung together three consecutive three-hit games and went on to slash a stout .377/.485/.453 with four doubles, nine RBIs, 10 runs scored, one stolen base, 11 walks, and 11 strikeouts in 14 games (66 plate appearances) for the Drive.

As the calendar flipped from August to September, the Red Sox elected to promote both Teel and outfielder Roman Anthony from Greenville to Double-A Portland for the final stretch of the 2023 campaign. While Anthony — at 19 years old — became the first teenage prospect to make it to Double-A since Xander Bogaerts did so in 2012, Teel became the first Red Sox first-rounder since 2005 (Craig Hansen) to get to Boston’s Eastern League affiliate in the same year he was drafted.

Though Anthony and Teel were tasked with facing upper-minors pitching for the first time in their respective young careers, both were clearly up for the challenge. Teel, in particular, batted .323/.462/.484 with two doubles, one home run, 11 RBIs, three runs scored, two stolen bases, eight walks, and 11 strikeouts in his final nine games (39 plate appearances) of the year with the Sea Dogs.

All told, Teel compiled a .363/.482/.495 slash line (173 wRC+) with six doubles, two homers, 22 runs driven in, 15 runs scored, three stolen bases, 21 walks, and 22 strikeouts across 26 games spanning 114 trips to the plate at three different levels (FCL, High-A, and Double-A). Among the 89 Red Sox minor-leaguers who eclipsed the century mark in plate appearances last season, Teel led the pack in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS (.977), wRC+, and line-drive rate (31.9 percent), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Teel unsurprisingly saw all of his playing time on the field in his pro debut come at catcher. Between his stops at Fort Myers, Greenville, and Portland, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound backstop logged 166 innings behind the plate, allowing only three passed balls while throwing out 12 of 41 potential base stealers. In four starts with the Sea Dogs specifically, he nabbed two would-be base stealers in nine attempts without committing an error.

Teel, who turns 22 next month, comes into 2024 ranked by Baseball America as the No. 3 prospect in Boston’s farm system (trailing only Marcelo Mayer and Anthony) and the No. 85 prospect in the sport. In somewhat similar fashion, MLB Pipeline currently regards Teel as the Red Sox’ fourth-ranked prospect (Ceddane Rafaela is ahead of him and behind Mayer/Anthony) and the 82nd-ranked prospect in baseball.

With plus arm strength and a strong defensive profile complementing a still-developing bat, Teel has the chance to emerge as Boston’s everyday catcher of the future. Barring a trade, which cannot be ruled out at this point, he is projected to return to Portland for the start of the 2024 minor-league season.

According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, who also compiles the Red Sox’ organizational rankings for Baseball America, Boston won’t rush Teel out of Portland to begin the year since he only just started to learn to call his own games. Still, there is a chance that Teel works his way to Triple-A Worcester this season and puts himself in position to make his major-league debut by 2025.

In the meantime, Teel and 10 0ther Red Sox prospects are set to take part in the club’s annual rookie development program, which gets underway in Boston next Monday. Teel and several others from that group — including fellow catcher Nathan Hickey — will then head to Springfield for Winter Weekend at the end of the week.

(Picture of Kyle Teel: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox catching prospect Ronaldo Hernández agrees to minor-league deal with Diamondbacks

Former Red Sox catching prospect Ronaldo Hernandez has agreed to a minor-league contract with the Diamondbacks, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. The deal comes with an invitation to major-league spring training.

Hernandez, 26, spent the last three seasons in the Red Sox organization after originally being acquired from the Rays alongside minor-league infielder Nick Sogard in the February 2021 trade that sent pitchers Chris Mazza and Jeffrey Springs back to Tampa Bay.

At that time, Hernandez was viewed as one of the top catching prospects in baseball. The native Colombian had already been added to the Rays’ 40-man roster in 2019 and maintained that status going into his first spring training with the Sox. He opened the 2021 campaign at Double-A Portland and posted an .825 OPS in 92 games there before earning a promotion to Triple-A Worcester in late September.

Hernandez spent the entirety of the 2022 season with Worcester as well, batting .261/.298/.451 with 27 doubles, 17 home runs, 63 RBIs, 50 runs scored, 21 walks, and 92 strikeouts over 105 games (437 plate appearances) for the WooSox. The right-handed hitter was called up by Boston on two separate occasions last year (once in April and again in August) but never got into a game, so he has yet to officially make his major-league debut.

The Red Sox removed Hernandez from their 40-man roster last December and subsequently outrighted him to the minor-leagues once he cleared waivers. He received an invite to big-league spring training, but was never really in consideration for a call-up this past season. Instead, he slashed .242/.336/.445 with 17 doubles, 17 homers, 70 RBIs, 49 runs scored, two stolen bases, 41 walks, and 69 strikeouts in 99 games (393 plate appearances) for Worcester while splitting time between catcher and designated hitter.

Hernandez, who became a free agent after hitting the open market last month, peaked as the No. 14 prospect in Boston’s farm system, according to SoxProspects.com’s rankings history. He carries with him a lifetime slash line of .279/.333/.461 with 91 home runs and 409 RBIs in 636 career minor-league games (2,616 plate appearances) dating back to 2015. At the Triple-A level specifically, Hernandez has batted .255/.319/.448 with 34 homers and 138 runs driven in across 211 games spanning 860 trips to the plate.

While defense has never been a strong suit for Hernandez, the 6-foot-1, 248-pound backstop should be able to provide the Diamondbacks with some bat-first catching depth in the upper-minors behind the likes of standout Gabriel Moreno and Jose Herrera (both of whom are currently on Arizona’s 40-man roster) heading into the 2024 season.

In the meantime, Hernandez has been playing winter ball for the Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican Winter League. Coming into play on Wednesday, he has hit .245/.333/.283 with two doubles and three RBIs in 17 games (60 plate appearances) with the San Francisco de Macorís-based club.

(Picture of Ronaldo Hernandez: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)