Boston Red Sox
Payton Tolle is the highest-ranked prospect in Boston’s system at No. 19 overall.
The Red Sox underwent a sizable youth movement during the 2025 season, with blue-chip prospects like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer all making their big-league debuts.
But even with that trio graduating from Baseball America’s rankings of the top prospects in the sport, the Red Sox are seemingly reloading when it comes to their deep prospect pool.
Baseball America released its updated list of the top 100 prospects in baseball on Wednesday, with four players in Boston’s system making the cut.
Lefty pitcher Payton Tolle earned the No. 17 spot on the lost, while infielder Franklin Arias also landed in the top 50 at No. 49 overall. Southpaw Connelly Early followed at No. 52 overall, while pitcher Kyson Witherspoon took the No. 69 spot.
Both Tolle and Early made their big-league debuts in 2025, while Arias and Witherspoon are likely a year or two away from making a concerted push for big-league reps.
Tolle has soared up the prospect rankings since Boston drafted him in 2024. The lefty out of TCU opened the 2025 season with High-A Greenville before advancing all the way to Boston by the end of the summer.
Tolle went 0-1 in the big leagues across seven appearances (three starts), sporting a 6.06 ERA and striking out 19 batters over 16.1 innings of work.
Early also saw his stock rise after getting thrust into a starting role in The Show by the end of the summer. The lefty went 1-2 with a 2.33 ERA across four starts in the regular season, striking out 29 and only walking four over 19.1 innings of work.
He also received the starting nod in Boston’s decisive Game 3 of the Wild Card round against the Yankees.
Arias, 20, signed as an international free agent in 2023 and has also climbed up Boston’s prospect ladder in short order. A gifted fielder with some encouraging hit tools, Arias closed out the 2025 season with Double-A Portland — batting .261 with two home runs over 10 games with the Sea Dogs.
Witherspoon is looking to hit the ground running in his first full pro season in 2026. The righty was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round (No. 15 overall) of the 2025 MLB Draft out of the University of Oklahoma.
The 21-year-old pitcher sported a 10-4 record with the Sooners last season — posting a 10-4 record and 2.65 ERA while striking out 124 batters over 16 starts.
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