No. 10: Infield prospect Chase Meidroth
Chase Meidroth is the winner of the criminally underrated prospect award for the third straight season.
The right-handed hitter spent the entire season in Triple-A. He slashed .293/.437/.400 with 20 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. Meidroth posted 57 RBI, 87 runs, and 13 steals.
The wildest stat comes when looking at his walks and strikeouts. In 558 plate appearances, Meidroth only struck out 71 times for a 12.7% K rate. Meanwhile, he drew 105 walks for an 18.8% BB rate. Those are elite numbers.
Meidroth has one of the best hit tools in the minor leagues. He rarely chases and almost always makes contact when he swings at pitches in the zone. He will hit for a high average and get on base at a phenomenal clip in the Majors.
Meidroth isn't fast, but his speed won't hurt you. He's smart on the basepaths and can swipe some bags.
I love Meidroth's defense. He plays an average-to-above-average second base, third base, and shortstop. The arm is good enough for all three spots (but not great, so second base works best).
Somehow, Meidroth isn't considered a great prospect. There are two reasons for that. First, the 23-year-old is listed at 5'10", 170 lbs. Second, he has very little pop in his swing.
Seven home runs in a full season when you play your home games at a hitter's park isn't going to get people out of their seats. I don't care, though. Not everyone needs to hit 30 home runs. Meidroth is the guy that gets on base for the power hitters.
He's also the guy you want up with runners in scoring position because you know he will put the bat on the ball. Meidroth hit .292 with runners in scoring position and was 4-for-10 (.400) with the bases loaded. There are other ways of driving in runs than just hitting the ball far.
Chase Meidroth will have seasons where he hits over .300. He'll have league-leading OBPs and score 100 runs.
His speed isn't great, and his lack of power hurts him, but Meidroth will be a Major League talent for a long time. The Red Sox don't have a spot for him at the moment, but he's earned one.
Hit: 70
Power: 35
Run: 45
Arm: 45
Field: 55
Overall: 50
No. 9: Pitching prospect Yordanny Monegro
Yordanny Monegro is the best healthy pitching prospect in the system. If you told me I had to guess which healthy pitcher in the organization would be an ace in the future, Monegro would be the one I hang my hat on.
A combination of pitch mix, confidence, and swagger creates something special when he's on the mound.
Monegro missed the start of the 2024 season due to injury and struggled when he first returned. You could see the confidence returning, and it culminated with a 45-inning streak where Monegro didn't allow an earned run.
The right-handed pitcher finished with a 2.73 ERA, .176 BAA, and 1.03 WHIP in 15 appearances (14 starts) in High-A. He struck out 82 batters compared to 26 walks in 66 innings.
After last season, I likened Monegro to Pikachu. His electricity made him a fan favorite. The Aura God kept that tradition going with some top-tier celebrations. We even got the #YordannyCellyWatch to go big time.
Monegro didn't reach Double-A this season, but there could be a few reasons for that. The injury at the start of the year certainly didn't help. By the end of the season, it felt more like a way to protect him from the Rule 5 draft than anything else. Teams are much less likely to select someone who hasn't even appeared in Double-A yet.
Monegro has four pitches. First is a fastball that sits in the mid-90s. It doesn't have a ton of movement on it, but he throws it with confidence, and it's worked so far. The fastball plays well off his secondary pitches.
He has an okay changeup that plays around 90 MPH with a decent late dip. It's inconsistent, but it got better as the year went on.
The slider is fantastic, working in the mid-80s. Sometimes, it feels like Monegro has better command of this pitch than his fastball. He can drop it in the zone but isn't afraid to throw it away and get hitters chasing.
Monegro didn't use it to the extent he did in 2023, but the curveball is still my favorite of his pitches. It sits in the high-70s with a heavy break. It has claimed a lot of victims over the last two seasons.
There's a lot to Yordanny Monegro's delivery, which you could argue doesn't bode well for him in the future. It adds to the presentation, though. Everything about him is loud. He's not a slam dunk by any stretch of the imagination, but if you told me Mongero became the Red Sox ace in four years, I also wouldn't be shocked.
Fastball: 50
Changeup: 35
Slider: 55
Curveball: 70
Control: 45
Overall: 50