Brayan Bello might not be an under-the-radar prospect for much longer.
The 22-year-old, one of the top pitching prospects in the Boston Red Sox organization, was named to the MLB Futures Game roster as an injury replacement Monday morning. He joined Jeter Downs as the only Red Sox prospects set to participate in the upcoming exhibition at Coors Field.
Fellow top Red Sox prospects Triston Casas and Jarren Duran both were not named to the roster due to Olympics-related reasons.
Bello was a relative unknown before the season but his stock has risen dramatically since the spring. He was 24th in SoxProspects.com's preseason rankings, but ascended to seventh in the June update.
An international free agent signing in 2017, Bello began the year with six dominant outings for the high-A Greenville Drive. The hard-throwing righty went 5-0 with a 2.27 ERA, .217 opponents batting average and 45 strikeouts over 31 2/3 innings, earning a promotion to Double-A for his efforts.
With the Sea Dogs, Bello is 0-0 in four starts with a 3.45 ERA, .228 opponents batting average and 19 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings.
The 2021 MLB Futures Game is scheduled for July 11 in Colorado.
