It was certainly an eventful week for the Boston Red Sox minor league system. We were treated to fireworks shows (in more than one way), incredible offensive performances, dominant pitching performances, and viral moments.
The Red Sox had their own share of positives this week. Seeing some of the biggest names in the system put on a show was the phenomenal icing on the cake.
Worcester Red Sox (Triple-A)
Marcelo Mayer had 13 RBI this week. The left-handed hitting shortstop also had three straight two-hit games to end the week. Mayer is slashing .233/.273/.411 with one double and four home runs. He's driven in 22 runs, scored 10 more, and stolen one base.
Mayer has played mainly shortstop but has appeared in two games at third base and two games at second base. It seems the Red Sox want to give him a little more versatility for the major league team.
Roman Anthony got things started early. The left-handed hitting outfielder collected two hits and three walks in the first game of the series. In his next game, Anthony went 2-for-4 with two home runs (one being a grand slam).
Anthony has been consistently smoking the baseball — even his outs tend to be hit hard. The 20-year-old is slashing .273/.415/.530 with three doubles, one triple, and four home runs. He's driven in 12 runs, scored 14 more, and stolen two bases.
Tyler McDonough enjoyed a five-hit day. The switch-hitting prospect went 5-for-6 with a double and a home run on April 18. He's also on a three-game hitting streak. McDonough is slashing .333/.412/.467 with a double and a home run this season. He's driven in four runs, scored three more, and stolen one base.
While McDonough hasn't gotten much playing time this year, he has made the most of his opportunities. With performances like he had on Friday, expect to see McDonough a bit more often.
Shane Drohan started two games this week. The left-handed pitcher combined to allow one run on four hits in nine innings over those two starts. He struck out 12 batters and walked two.
Drohan has a 0.96 ERA, .138 BAA, and 0.91 WHIP in 18 2/3 innings. His fastball velocity is still up, and his breaking stuff has looked good. The 28 strikeouts compared to eight walks is an indicator of the turnaround we're seeing in 2025.
Brian Van Belle tossed 3 1/3 shutout innings out of the bullpen this week. He allowed two hits and no walks while striking out five batters.
The right-handed pitcher has surrendered one run on six hits in eight innings. He's walked one batter compared to eight strikeouts. BVB moved to the bullpen last year, and it has helped him turn a corner in his career. However, his appearance this week was a start, and he still managed to dominate.
Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A)
Jhostynxon Garcia had a phenomenal week at the plate. Portland's offense was brought to life thanks to him, Mikey Romero, and someone else on this list.
Garcia went 9-for-19 with three walks compared to two strikeouts. He hit a double and his first home run of the season. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .308/.429/.462 with three doubles and one home run. He's driven in six runs, scored seven more, and stolen two bases.
Garcia's drawn nine walks compared to 11 strikeouts. That's a vast improvement compared to last season (when he walked 33 times compared to 99 strikeouts). The power will come. Right now, it's just great to see an improved approach.
Ahbram Liendo has abandoned switch-hitting, and it's clearly doing him wonders. The right-handed hitting infielder is slashing .342/.359/.474 with two doubles and a home run. He's driven in four runs, scored six more, and stolen six bases in as many attempts.
Liendo hit .205 in Single-A in 2023 and .196 between High-A and Double-A in 2024. It's still early in 2025, but it's impossible not to notice the improvements. He still needs to work on his strikeout/walk ratio (12/1), but if the bat really has taken a step forward, he becomes fun. Liendo's a great defensive infielder with elite speed. Some life in his bat makes him an interesting prospect. He's still only 21, as well.
Enderso Lira deserves a quick shoutout. The right-handed hitting catcher is very much known as a defensive prospect. He hit .142 in High-A last year and entered the season with two home runs. In his first career Double-A at-bat this week, Lira hit a home run.
Yordanny Monegro came out of the bullpen this week after a Brayan Bello rehab start. The right-handed pitcher picked up the win by allowing one unearned run on four hits in four innings. He didn't walk anyone and struck out nine batters.
Monegro has allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits in 7 1/3 innings this season. He's struck out 15 batters compared to just one strikeout.
Monegro doesn't get the respect he deserves due to his fastball not hitting high velocities (tends to sit in the low 90s. However, his breaking pitches are great, and he racks up strikeouts. The results have never been anything less than stellar.
Connelly Early also came out of the bullpen this week after Lucas Giolito's latest rehab start. Early tossed three shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out six batters. The left-handed pitcher has surrendered just two runs (one earned) on three hits in 10 2/3 innings. He's piled up 21 strikeouts compared to three walks.
Early's velocity is up, his slider looks good, and his changeup has been devastating. The hype around his was already pretty decent entering the year, but it's spiked up pretty significantly over the last two weeks.
Alex Hoppe had a difficult 2024 season but has been dominant in 2025. The right-handed reliever didn't allow a run (or even a hit) over three innings in his lone appearance this week. He struck out five batters and walked one.
Hoppe has a 1.23 ERA, .200 BAA, and 1.23 WHIP in 7 1/3 innings. He's struck out 12 batters compared to four walks. Hoppe can hit 100 MPH with his fastball, and his slider has shown great bite at times.
Greenville Drive (High-A)
Andy Lugo had a fun week. The right-handed hitting utility player went 5-for-19 with two walks. That's not great, but he did have two doubles, a home run, and five RBI. The home run was a game-tying shot in the bottom of the eighth inning on April 19. Then, he hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th inning and had a ridiculous bat flip that went mega-viral. (Speaking of mega-viral, shoutout to Albert Feliz for that preposterous home run.)
Lugo is slashing .273/.313/.455 with five doubles and one home run. He's driven in five runs and scored four more. Lugo plays a ton of positions and has always impressed me with his bat. As someone who has beat the Lugo drum since last season, it's fantastic seeing him get recognition (even if most of it is due to the bat flip).
Nelly Taylor is slashing .333/.444/.533 with three doubles and one home runs this season. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in five runs, scored four more, and stolen three bases. He has six walks compared to seven strikeouts.
Taylor is an elite defender who showed promise with the bat last season. It looks like that promise is being realized. He's currently on a four-game hitting streak and has five walks over his last three games. We predict Taylor will be a top 100 prospect by the end of the year.
Marvin Alcantara is on a seven-game hitting streak. The right-handed hitting infielder has a .405/.457/.452 slash line with two doubles. He's driven in four runs, scored seven more, and stolen two bases.
Alcantara had some good moments in 2024 but had clear areas to improve. One of those was his 103 strikeouts compared to just 28 walks. In 11 games this year, Alcantara has four walks compared to two strikeouts.
Brooks Brannon was off to a slow start before going 3-for-4 with his first two High-A home runs on April 20. The right-handed hitting catcher/infielder is slashing .256/.347/.419 with one double and two home runs. He's driven in seven runs, scored six more, and stolen one base.
Brannon is an offensive-minded catcher with the athleticism and arm to make you wonder if he can improve defensively (he's already taken some decent steps there). The 20-year-old hits home runs in bunches, and this could be the start of a fun run.
Jojo Ingrassia had a ridiculous performance out of the bullpen this week. The left-handed pitcher allowed one hit in 5 1/3 shutout innings. He struck out five batters compared to one walk. Ingrassia has a 2.77 ERA, .182 BAA, and 0.77 WHIP in 13 innings. He's struck out 19 batters compared to two walks.
Ingrassia dominated Single-A hitters in 2024, and he seems to be having zero issues with High-A hitting. The 2023 draftee could be in Portland well before the end of the season.
Salem Red Sox (Single-A)
Franklin Arias has a hit in 13 of his 14 games this season. The right-handed hitting shortstop is slashing .375/.435/.429 with three doubles. He's driven in seven runs, scored 12 more, and stolen three bases. Arias has five walks compared to seven strikeouts.
Although he's only appeared in 50 Single-A games, don't expect him to be in Salem much longer. I'd be shocked if he's not in Greenville by mid-May.
Antonio Anderson could also be moving up to High-A sooner rather than later. The switch-hitting third baseman is slashing .349/.444/.442 with four doubles. He's driven in nine runs and scored nine more. Anderson has nine strikeouts compared to 11 walks.
Double-A spent the entire 2024 season in Salem. He struggled for the most part but showed signs of the talent that made Boston want to draft him in the third round of the 2023 draft. The 19-year-old isn't showing those same struggles in 2025. Get him to Greenville.
Yosander Asencio is slashing .241/.463/.310 with two doubles. The switch-hitting outfielder has driven in three runs, scored seven more, and stolen one base. Most impressive is his 12 walks compared to 10 strikeouts.
Asencio has made a few phenomenal defensive plays in the outfield, and while the bat hasn't been overwhelmingly good, he's getting on base and showing flashes at times.
Devin Futrell made his professional debut this week. The 2024 10th-round draft pick tossed three perfect innings, striking out three batters. He only needed 28 pitches to do so.
Futrell is a left-handed pitcher out of Vanderbilt. He's good enough to be in Greenville, along with a few other Salem players, but they don't have room to call them up. Don't be shocked if you see Futrell and others continue to churn out big performances.
Brandon Clarke wasn't perfect like his last time out, but he still impressed this week. The left-handed pitcher allowed one run on two hits in 2 1/3 innings. He walked one batter and struck out six. Clarke didn't have the command with his fastball this time out, but the high-90s will always play. His off-speed pitches continue to impress.
Clarke is a unique prospect. He has the legitimate potential to be special, but there are some obvious things (notably the command and consistency) that he needs to work on to get there. If this is what a "shaky" performance looks like from Clarke, though, 2025 will be fun.