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Boston Red Sox Prospects: Who will make their MLB debut in 2022?

By Hunter Noll

BOSTON, MA - JULY 28: Jarren Duran #40 of the Boston Red Sox follows watches a hit against the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning of game two of a doubleheader at Fenway Park on July 28, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JULY 28: Jarren Duran #40 of the Boston Red Sox follows watches a hit against the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning of game two of a doubleheader at Fenway Park on July 28, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 20: A general view of the Boston Red Sox playing against the Houston Astros in Game Five of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park on October 20, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Red Sox outfield prospect Pedro Castellanos

Boston is short on outfielders in the minors that could help right now. Pedro Castellanos is definitely right near the top of the list though. What’s great is, he can play first base too. In fact, that was his primary position before the 2021 season. But in 2021, Castellanos spent the entire year in the outfield. While he’s mainly a left fielder, he spent some time in right field and managed a few innings in center field as well.

When Castellanos first came into the Red Sox system, he was considered one of their top prospects. In that time, the right-handed hitter was seen as someone with untapped power potential. In 2016, he hit three home runs in 236 at-bats in Rookie Ball. Then he hit two home runs in 195 at-bats between Rookie Ball and Full-A in 2017. 2018 saw Castellanos hit just one home run in 344 at-bats in Full-A.

Then the power started to show itself a bit. Castellanos managed nine home runs in 446 at-bats in Advanced-A in 2019. Finally came 2021. Last year he set a new career-high with 13 home runs, and he did so in just 325 at-bats. Clearly he’s started to find the power.

It hasn’t hurt the rest of his game either. Castellanos still hit .289 in 2021 (.300 in his career), and posted a .364 OBP (.471 slugging percentage). He’s finally becoming that all-around hitter with serious power potential.

Despite that, the 24-year-old (just turned 24 on December 11) has sort of fallen off the radar. But clearly Castellanos could be an asset. He’s a professional bat that would probably fit really well in the Red Sox lineup and would fall in love with the Green Monster. The defense isn’t great but he proved last season that he can play the outfield. It certainly wouldn’t help Boston defense issues there. At first base he’d be solid though.

Pedro Castellanos could start 2022 in Triple-A. He should be pretty close to the Majors. And if the Red Sox run into any sort of injury problems in the outfield or first base he could be one of the first to get called up. It might depend on how he plays, but nothing in his past suggests that Castellanos won’t rake. So he’s getting a “very warm” rating.

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