Following the trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox promoted several pitchers to different levels of the minor league system. Andrew Parker of SoxProspects broke the news of all three promotions.
Boston sent right-handed pitcher Gage Ziehl from Double-A to Triple-A. Meanwhile, left-handed pitcher Devin Futrell took Ziehl’s spot in Double-A from High-A. Then, lastly, left-handed pitcher Jason Gilman slots in for Futrell in High-A from Single-A. All three pitchers were more than deserving of a promotion, so let’s break each down.
Ziehl was brought over this offseason in the move that sent Jordan Hicks to the Chicago White Sox. Ziehl was a 2024 fourth-round pick by the New York Yankees, but was sent to Chicago in a trade for outfielder Austin Slater back in 2025. He obviously wasn’t with the White Sox long, either.
He’s looking to buck that trade trend with Boston. Ziehl posted a 4.33 ERA, .278 BAA, and 1.35 WHIP in 17 starts in Double-A. The righty had 96 strikeouts and 18 walks in 81 innings. Ziehl has had some classic “blowup” outings, but for the most part has looked phenomenal all year. Ziehl fanned eight batters over six innings of one-run ball for his final outing in Portland.
Red Sox promote three pitching prospects throughout system following trade deadline
Futrell was a 10th-round pick by Boston in 2024. The left-handed pitcher is one of the most underrated arms in the system, and now that he’s in Double-A, maybe he’ll get more of a spotlight.
How underrated is he? Futrell posted a 1.09 ERA, .213 BAA, and 0.97 WHIP in 24 2/3 innings in High-A last season after being promoted. Despite that, he still started the year in Single-A.
The 23-year-old has a 3.76 ERA, .233 BAA, and 1.08 WHIP in 17 outings (13 starts) between Single-A and High-A this season. He has 95 strikeouts and 16 walks in 83 2/3 innings. Futrell is very far from a gas thrower, but he has solid secondaries and fantastic command. He’s gone at least five innings in six of his last seven outings. Four of those saw him reach six-plus innings, with one even getting to seven innings. That’s incredibly impressive at the High-A level.
Gilman is the only one of the three not from the 2024 draft class. The left-handed pitcher was Boston’s 16th-round pick in the 2025 draft.
Gilman was a Division III college pitcher. Therefore, it’s maybe not that surprising that he was in Single-A for as long as he was, even if it was clear he was ready to move on.
Gilman posted a 2.91 ERA, .188 BAA, and 1.24 WHIP in 14 games (nine starts). He had 76 strikeouts and 32 walks in 55 2/3 innings.
Gilman’s a bit of an odd pitcher when you look at the games. There are some where the strikeouts come in bunches, and others where he doesn’t rack them up. He had a 10-strikeout game without drawing a walk. However, he’s also walked five and struck out five on a different day. He’s all over the map. Gilman’s been an easy watch for most of the season, though, and a new challenge was definitely needed.
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