Overlooked Red Sox Prospects Receive Intriguing Superlatives

The Boston Red Sox not only have some of the very best individual prospects in baseball, but they’ve got incredible depth throughout the organization.

It’s why their system is viewed as one of the MLB’s best.

Roman Anthony (No. 2), Marcelo Mayer (No. 4) and Kristian Campbell (No. 26) have dominated headlines throughout the last couple of seasons, with all three landing on ESPN’s ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball put together by Kiley McDaniel.

McDaniel wanted to highlight some of those who just missed the cut, though, and listed out the next 100 prospects Thursday. Franklin Arias (No. 102), Miguel Bleis (No. 115), Luis Perales (No. 119), Jhostynxon Garcia (No. 136) and David Sandlin (No. 169) all landed on the list, with two of those prospects receiving high praise by way of some intriguing superlatives.

Arias was named most likely to make the top 50 in 2026, which would follow along the lines of major jumps made by Anthony and Campbell over the last two seasons.

“Arias just missed the top 100, offering the best combination of age and tools, with a chance to prove himself with a full season in Single-A,” McDaniel wrote. “He has progressed like the top prep players from the 2024 draft and has a better hit tool than either of the top picks — Konnor Griffin and Bryce Rainer (both in the top 100) — with raw power the reason he’s ranked behind them. (Arias projects as average to a tick above in the big leagues.”

Bleis was also considered for that superlative, per McDaniel.

Perales was named the most likely prospect to become a frontline starter, which would be a major win for the organization after struggling to develop pitching talent over the last several years. The Red Sox will have to wait quite a while before that even becomes a possibility, though, as he recently underwent Tommy John surgery.

“Perales was starting to turn the corner last spring, adding more precision to his high-octane stuff and area command,” McDaniel wrote. “After nine sparkling starts, he went down with elbow soreness that led to Tommy John surgery that kept him from being comfortably in the top 100. He should return to the mound in the fall/winter of 2025 and has two plus-plus pitches (four-seamer and cutter) that headline his potent mix.”

Perales and Sandlin were also considered among those who could become an elite closer, per McDaniel.