Four Under-The-Radar Red Sox Prospects Whose Stocks Could Soar In 2024

The Red Sox farm system has a clear top tier ahead of the 2024 season.

Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel are consensus top-100 prospects on national lists and seemingly represent Boston’s next core.

Even a second tier is coming into focus, comprised of players who’ve already debuted with Boston (Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu), prospects on the cusp of reaching the majors (Nick Yorke and Chase Meidroth) and lower-level minor leaguers primed to make noise (Miguel Bleis and Yoeilin Cespedes).

But sometimes, a breakout can come from someone off the radar, to the point where we’re forced to reevaluate their standing in the system. And that kind of development can have implications on the organizational depth chart.

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Allan Castro, OF
SoxProspects ranking: No. 15
The international free agent market produced a couple of Red Sox franchise cornerstones in Rafael Devers and Brayan Bello. A couple more could follow a similar trajectory, with Bleis and Cespedes, in particular, showing considerable upside. But don’t sleep on Castro, a 20-year-old Dominican Republic native who joined the organization as a middle infielder back in 2019. He’s coming off a mostly solid 2023 split between Single-A Salem and High-A Greenville, and eventually could factor into Boston’s outfield plans.

“That guy’s got some thump in that bat,” Greenville manager Iggy Suarez told MassLive. “Quick. Quick twitch. Fast runner. Good defender in the outfield. Good arm.”

Castro, the Latin Program Position Player of the Year in 2021, is a switch-hitter who’s listed at 6-foot, 170 pounds. He’s an average-over-power guy for now, with the ability to pepper the gaps, but his in-game pop could increase as he progresses through the system. Castro hits the ball hard and has a solid approach, evident by his exit velocities and strikeout/walk rates.

Franklin Arias, SS
SoxProspects ranking: No. 32
Cespedes isn’t the only player from the Red Sox’s 2023 international free agent class worth keeping an eye on over the next several years. Arias has the potential to climb prospect rankings, as well, with MLB Pipeline already listing him No. 15 in the Red Sox system heading into 2024.

The 18-year-old Venezuelan shortstop is considered a slick defender, which could allow him to carve out an MLB career even if his offensive game never fully materializes.

“He’s someone who is a long way away — he was on that (Dominican Summer League) team last year, too — but he’s got a really good approach at the plate. Really strong contact skills. I think there’s a good chance to hit,” Ian Cundall, director of scouting for SoxProspects.com, recently told NESN.com. “He needs to add strength. That’s the biggest thing. He’s very skinny at present. But there is some projection in the frame there and he’s a really good defensive shortstop, potentially. So, I think that raw tool set from the DSL can translate stateside pretty quickly.”

Arias is listed at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds. He posted a .350/.440/.453 slash line with one home run, 15 RBIs and 19 walks to just 14 strikeouts in 37 games (159 plate appearances) in the DSL last season.

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David Sandlin, RHP
SoxProspects ranking: No. 13
Sandlin is new to the system, arriving in the trade that sent reliever John Schreiber to the Kansas City Royals. But there’s a lot to like about the 23-year-old hurler. For one, he has starter upside.

“Fastball as an amateur was kind of low 90s. In pro ball, it’s been up to 98-99 (mph),” Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told reporters after the February trade. “Pitches probably at 95-97, good breaking ball and a (changeup) that we see room to optimize. And so, it was a combination of raw stuff, projection and a chance to tweak the usage just a little bit and improve performance.”

Sandlin, an 11th-round pick in 2022, went 4-2 with a 3.51 ERA, a 1.215 WHIP and 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings in 14 starts (66 2/3 innings) last season split between Single-A and High-A. But his winter improvements suggest he’s just scratching the surface.

“He’s very interesting, especially if what he’s shown this offseason is legit,” Cundall said. “TBD if that can translate in-season, but if he’s throwing 100 (mph) with good shape and a good slider, that’s a pretty big change from what he was last year, when he was like 92-96.”

Sandlin is listed at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds. So, there’s a solid frame to work with as he starts to navigate the upper levels of the minors.

Nicholas Judice, RHP
SoxProspects ranking: No. 59
Another fresh face. Another intriguing arm. Judice joined the Red Sox system in the trade that sent Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees. He’s a big dude — listed at 6-foot-8, 230 pounds — but he’s very much a wild card, having yet to throw a single professional pitch.

That said, why not?

“No one’s seen him pitch because he hasn’t pitched since college,” Cundall said. “But he’s 6-8 and he throws 100 miles per hour, reportedly. I think there’s more upside than a normal college guy there with him.”

Judice, who turns 23 in April, pitched for four years at Louisiana-Monroe. The Yankees drafted him in the eighth round in 2023, and he could profile as a back-end reliever for Boston down the road.