Boston Red Sox: 5 Salem Red Sox storylines to follow in 2024
By Hunter Noll
Which 2023 Red Sox draft picks shine?
Some of the best Boston Red Sox talent in Single-A this year will be 2023 draft picks. How will they perform?
Some players from last year's draft, such as Kyle Teel and Kristian Campbell, are already above Single-A. However, a lot of the younger talent will spend a good amount of time with Salem in 2024.
Nazzan Zanetello, Antonio Anderson, and Stanley Tucker are a few hitters that finished the season in Single-A. Meanwhile, Matt Duffy, Zach Fogell, and Connelly Early are some pitchers who made it to Salem in 2023.
How will this crop of players perform? We got to see a bit of Tucker and Anderson but nearly none of Zanetello.
Zanetello was Boston's second-round pick. We only got to see two Single-A at-bats from the right-handed hitting infielder before an injury shut him down for the remainder of the season, though. Will we get to see his freaky athleticism and speed in 2024? It should be fun.
Will we get the chance to see Nelly Taylor, Caden Rose, or Justin Riemer in Salem this year? All three are college hitters who could make waves. However, they might skip Single-A entirely.
There's a lot of college pitching in the class. How will they adjust to professional hitting? Can any of them hit the ground running and fly through the lower levels of the minor leagues this season?
Boston's farm system is often criticized for not having a lot of pitching. Will any of these pitchers emerge to help break that narrative?
The Red Sox already have one of the most entertaining and loaded farm systems in baseball. A strong start to 2024 in Single-A from their 2023 class could catapult Boston even higher in the rankings.