Little-Known Red Sox Prospect Standing Out At Lower Levels

It’s been a good spring for Red Sox prospects, including a trio of players representing Boston in the Futures All-Star Game this week, and it seems another little-known prospect has been making his own waves.

Yoeilin Cespedes, who the Red Sox signed as an international free agent in January, has caught the attention of those inside the organization due to his play for the Dominican Summer League Red Sox.

“He definitely stands out offensively,” Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero said of the 17-year-old Cespedes, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “He’s been one of the better offensive players that we’ve had there in a while.”

In 111 at-bats for the DSL Red Sox, Cespedes has hit .342 with a .921 OPS. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound infielder has four home runs and 19 RBIs.

Speier wrote for Baseball America on Tuesday that Cespedes looks like one of the top hitting prospects to come through the organization’s academy since Rafael Devers did so a decade ago.

“He’s really advanced for his age, for where he is,” Boston farm director Brian Abraham said, per Speier. “He stands out.”

Speier noted how, given Cespedes’ advancements at the plate, he could rise to the Florida Complex League as soon as this season. Sox Prospects still has an ETA of 2028 for the Cespedes, who was awarded a signing bonus of $1.4 million in January.