Tag: henry godbout

Red Sox to promote top IF prospect Henry Godbout to Double-A Portland

The Red Sox are promoting top infield prospect Henry Godbout from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, as first reported by MiLB Central’s Chase Ford.

Godbout is technically moving up to Portland from Low-A Salem, where he had been on a rehab assignment since July 31. The 22-year-old appeared in five games for the RidgeYaks, going 4-for-14 (.286) with one RBI, six runs scored, two stolen bases, six walks, and two strikeouts. He is evidently ready for a new challenge.

With this promotion, Godbout will be reaching the upper minors in his first full professional season. The Virginia product was selected by the Red Sox with the 75th overall pick in last summer’s draft, which the club received as compensation for losing Nick Pivetta to the Padres in free agency. He signed for an at-slot $1,093,800 and made his pro debut with Greenville, where he slashed .341/.473/.477 across a 13-game sample sandwiched around a hamstring injury.

Following an impressive spring training in which he displayed high-end bat speed with his quick swing, Godbout returned to Greenville and got his 2026 campaign off to an encouraging start. The right-handed hitter batted .277/.410/.492 with seven doubles, seven home runs, 14 RBIs, 21 runs scored, two stolen bases, 22 walks, and 27 strikeouts in 34 games (161 plate appearances) for the Drive before suffering a broken left hand after being hit by a pitch on May 30. He underwent surgery in early June and was transferred to the 60-day injured list ahead of being cleared to return to game action late last month.

Overall, Godbout is batting .278/.429/.472 with seven doubles, seven home runs, 15 RBIs, 27 runs scored, four stolen bases, 28 walks, and 29 strikeouts in 39 games (184 plate appearances) between Greenville and Salem this season. He is slashing .288/.447/.441 in 152 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers and .231/.344/.615 in 32 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers.

Excluding those in rookie-level Dominican Summer and Florida Complex Leagues, 47 Red Sox minor leaguers have logged at least 180 plate appearances so far in 2026. Among those 47, Godbout ranks second in on-base percentage, third in swinging-strike rate (7%), fourth in wOBA (.416) and wRC+ (137), fifth in OPS (.901) and strikeout rate (15.8%), eighth in batting average, ninth in walk rate (15.2%), 11th in slugging percentage, and 16th in isolated power (.194), according to FanGraphs.

Defensively, Godbout has been used almost exclusively at shortstop this year. Between his stops in Greenville and Salem, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder made 32 starts at short, committing eight errors in 124 chances over 283 innings. He also made seven starts at DH.

Godbout, who turns 23 in November, is currently ranked by Baseball America as Boston’s No. 5 prospect. The New York native is set to become the fourth member of the Red Sox’ 2025 draft class to make the jump to Portland this season, joining third-rounder Anthony Eyanson (who has since been traded), fourth-rounder Mason White, and 13th-rounder Jack Winnay.

(Picture of Henry Godbout: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

Red Sox prospect Henry Godbout undergoes surgery for broken left hand

Red Sox infield prospect Henry Godbout recently underwent surgery to repair a broken left hand, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.

Godbout suffered the injury when he was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of High-A Greenville’s 10-8 loss to Asheville at Fluor Field on May 30. The 22-year-old was placed on the 7-day injured list on June 2 and, after undergoing surgery, appears likely to be transferred to the 60-day injured list, according to a team source.

Such a move would sideline Godbout for much of the summer, putting a damper on his first full professional season. The right-handed hitter was batting .277/.410/.492 with seven doubles, seven home runs, 14 RBIs, 21 runs scored, two stolen bases, 22 walks, and 27 strikeouts in 34 games (161 plate appearances) for Greenville this year. He posted a .231/.344/.615 line against lefties and a .288/.426/.462 line against righties.

Among 85 qualified South Atlantic League hitters entering play this week, Godbout ranks third in swinging-strike rate (6.6%), ninth in on-base percentage and strikeout rate (16.8%), 15th in wOBA (.410), 16th in OPS (.902) and wRC+ (135), 19th in slugging percentage, 23rd in batting average, and 25th in isolated power (.215) and walk rate (13.7%), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Godbout was used almost exclusively at shortstop by Greenville to begin the season. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder made a team-leading 27 starts and logged 240 innings at short for the Drive, committing seven errors in 110 chances. He also made seven starts at DH.

Godbout was selected by the Red Sox out of Virginia with the 75th overall pick in the 2025 draft, which the club had received as compensation for losing qualified free agent Nick Pivetta to the Padres the previous winter. The New York native received a $1.0938 million signing bonus. He made his professional debut at Greenville last August, slashing .341/.473/.477 with no home runs and five RBIs in a limited sample of 13 games sandwiched around a hamstring injury.

After working with the Red Sox’ player development staff to add bat speed and power over the winter, Godbout impressed evaluators with his quick swing in spring training. He entered the season ranked as Boston’s No. 10 prospect by Baseball America, but has since moved up to the No. 7 spot. Among position players in the organization, only Franklin Arias (No. 1) and Justin Gonzales (No. 4) rank higher.

Godbout, who does not turn 23 until November, faces a somewhat lengthy road back from surgery. Assuming all goes well in his recovery, he should have an opportunity to end the season on a high note and perhaps even earn a promotion to Double-A Portland once he is cleared to return to action.

(Picture of Henry Godbout: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

How did Henry Godbout, top position player drafted by Red Sox this summer, fare in professional debut?

Henry Godbout was the first of six position players drafted by the Red Sox over the summer. This article will examine how the 21-year-old infielder fared in his professional debut this season.

Godbout was taken out of Virginia with the 75th overall pick in the 2025 draft, which the Red Sox had received as compensation for losing qualified free agent Nick Pivetta to the Padres in free agency last winter. Fresh off earning Second Team All-ACC honors in his junior season with the Cavaliers, the New York native signed with Boston for an at-slot $1.0938 million on July 22.

“Really good instincts, really good action,” Red Sox director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson said of Godbout when speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) following the draft. “They shift a lot at Virginia, but he’s able to cover a lot of ground and has worked both sides of the [second base] bag. We’re betting on the athlete here to be able to do both.

“Makes a ton of contact,” Pearson continued, “super athletic and fits our development strengths in terms of being able to tap into some more power.

After putting pen to paper in Fort Myers, Fla., and spending the remainder of July at the Red Sox’ Fenway South complex, Godbout reported straight to High-A Greenville (as opposed to Low-A Salem) and made his pro debut at Fluor Field on August 6. The right-handed hitter then went 6-for-17 (.353) with three doubles, two RBIs, four runs scored, six walks, and three strikeouts in his first six games with the Drive before suffering a hamstring injury in Greensboro on August 14.

Following an 11-day stint on the injured list, Godbout returned to action on August 28 and closed out the season by going 9-for-27 (.333) with three doubles, three RBIs, two runs scored, one stolen base, three walks, and three strikeouts in his final seven games of the 2025 campaign as Greenville came up just short of qualifying for a spot in the South Atlantic League playoffs.

Overall, Godbout batted .341/.473/.477 with six doubles, five RBIs, six runs scored, one stolen base, nine walks, and six strikeouts in 13 games (55 plate appearances) for the Drive. That includes a .333/.455/.667 slash line against left-handed pitching and a .343/.477/.429 slash line against right-handed pitching.

It is a small sample size, but Godbout was one of 261 hitters to accrue at least 55 plate appearances in the South Atlantic League this year. Among those 261, he ranked third in batting average and on-base percentage, fourth in strikeout rate (10.9 percent), fifth in OPS (.950), wOBA (.452), and wRC+ (182), sixth in swinging-strike rate (5.6 percent), 14th in slugging percentage, 21st in walk rate (16.4 percent), 76th in isolated power (.136), and 85th in line-drive rate (23.7 percent), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Godbout unsurprisingly split his playing time with Greenville between second base and shortstop. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder logged 55 innings at second and 22 innings at short without committing a single error in 19 total chances. He also made three starts at DH.

On the heels of making a positive first impression in his pro debut, Godbout is already regarded among the top prospects in Boston’s farm system by numerous outlets. He is ranked No. 19 by MLB Pipeline, No. 21 by Baseball America, and No. 23 by SoxProspects.com, respectively.

Godbout, who turns 22 in November, is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Greenville for the start of the 2026 season. With a full offseason of developmental opportunities ahead of him, he could emerge as an even more intriguing prospect as well as a quick riser within the organization next year.

(Picture of Henry Godbout: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)