A Full Breakdown of the Boston Red Sox prospects headed to the Arizona Fall League

The Arizona Fall League rosters have been released this week with a lot of intriguing prospects on each team. There are six teams full of prospects from Major League teams that will play starting October 6th. I’ll be writing an article and making Twitter posts about each team’s roster. This will cover the prospects from the Boston Red Sox who will be on the Salt River Rafters this fall. The team will consist of players from the Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Colorado Rockies as well.

Boston Red Sox:

Jonathan Brand RHP: A weird season for the 2022 8th round pick starting in AA he was promoted and demoted multiple times. After 4 appearances in AA he made one in AAA and gave up 4 runs leading to his demotion back to AA. After 10.2 innings in AA where he had a 1.69 ERA he went down to High-A for two outings before being promoted back up to AA. He was then promoted back to AA where he had 12.2 more innings to a 3.55 ERA. But then was demoted back down to High-A pitching there for a little over a month in 13.2 innings to a 0.66 ERA. He was then promoted back up to AA in September and pitched 3 outings to end the season. In total he pitched 51.1 innings out of the bullpen, 20.1 in High-A and 31 in AA. He finished the year with a 3.16 ERA between all levels while striking out 27.1% of batters and walking 9.2%. A very weird but successful year for Brand who’s had two good seasons since being drafted. Brand has a fastball that only sits in the low 90s but has 16.8” of induced vertical break and which makes it hard to hit up in the zone. His secondaries, a low 80s changeup, a mid 70s curveball, and mid 80s slider all have good movement and work well when commanded well. I’m not sure Brand has the upside of a late inning reliever but he can definitely work in the role of a multi inning guy out of the bullpen that he’s been doing his whole Red Sox career. 

Jojo Ingrassia LHP: After being drafted out of Cal State Fullerton in the 14th round in 2023 Ingrassia broke out in Low-A during his first pro season in 2024 pitching 58.1 to a 1.85 ERA. He showed big stuff striking out 39.6% of batters while walking 8.5%. This season though he was plagued with injuries just like was in college. During his time at San Diego State and Cal Fullerton he dealt with a torn rotator cuff, shoulder swelling, and elbow inflammation. This year after 4 games out of the bullpen for 17 innings he was shut down with a shoulder injury and hasn’t pitched since. Still there was a lot to love with Ingrassia in what we did see from him this year. He sat in the upper 80s with his fastball in college and in 2024 he climbed to the low 90s. This season he was sitting at 95 mph with some hitting 97 mph. He also throws a changeup that has great late fade and is a big strikeout pitch against right handed hitters. He will throw a cutter at times early in counts that sits in the high 80s. Lastly his sweeper has a long break and it has really worked against left handed hitters. A very underrated lefty in the Red Sox organization who could easily develop into a multi inning swingman with great upside.

Brandon Neely RHP: The 3rd round pick by the Red Sox in the 2024 draft has yet to make his Red Sox organizational debut after dealing with forearm stiffness during spring. I’m not sure what exact injury shut him down for so long but it’ll be exciting to see his debut in the AFL. At Florida Neely worked out of the bullpen mostly pitching 79 innings his last season to a 5.13 ERA but striking out 31.5% of batters and only walking 8.2%. Even with the not great ERA Neely showed great stuff to be drafted in the 3rd round. His fastball sat in the mid 90s with very good movement. HIs changeup sits in the high 80s and has 14” of fade. And he has a very good slider in the mid 80s. I’m excited to see what the Red Sox have been cooking with Neely as he has reportedly been working as a starter.

Luis Perales RHP: The best pitcher the Red Sox are sending to Arizona has spent most of the past two seasons down with Tommy John surgery. Perales has only been able to throw 2.1 innings this year while he works his way back. He has electric stuff with a fastball that sits in the high 90s and touches 100 mph. It also had elite movement with 19” of induced vertical break to 5” of horizontal break. He’s been working on a cutter that helps him get ahead when located and can work as a slider when located in the bottom of the zone but a cutter in the upper zone. He also has a splitter that works well off his fastball when he can locate both pitches. In the past he’s mostly worked as a starter and has gotten big strikeout numbers usually striking out around 30% of batters but he walks over 12%. Most outlets believe he’ll likely move to the bullpen as he works towards the Red Sox next season and has the potential to be an amazing back end of the bullpen reliever. 

Isaac Stebens RHP: A breakout season for the 2023 16th round pick Stebens threw 50.1 innings out of the High-A bullpen to a 2.15 ERA. He was able to strike out 27.4% of batters but walked 13.5%. His first professional season was also good in 2024 starting in Low-A where he got off to a hit 11 innings to a 0.82 ERA. Stebens was then promoted to High-A where he struggled more in 51.1 innings pitching to a 3.68 ERA. He has a really interesting delivery, almost a side arm delivery and he hides the ball really well. He mainly throws a low 90s sinker that had a 28% whiff rate in college to go along with a slider in the high 70s that had a 29% whiff rate and 26% chase rate. He also occasionally throws a changeup but mostly sticks with his two pitches at least he did in college. He has had no public data since getting into organized ball and it’ll be interesting to see what his pitches look like this fall.

Johanfran Garcia C: The older brother of Jhostynxon Garcia who recently made his MLB debut for the Red Sox Johanfran has spent the last two years recovering from a ligament and his right knee blowing out in 2024. After getting surgery last season it cut his Low-A season to only 14 games. This season he spent the first part of it recovering and rehabbing and was promoted to High-A in June. He hit pretty well there slashing .249/.327/.428 for a 121 wRC+. He has plus raw power hitting 9 homers in just 46 games this year. Even though he’s hit for a high average in the past he has a below average hit tool. He only made contact on 63.6% of swings this season. He has a long swing and chases a lot of pitches down and away. He chased 33.4% of pitches this year. He also whiffs a lot with a big leg kick that causes Garcia to not time up pitches all that well. He’s alright behind the plate and has gotten better throughout the years as a receiver. He’s basically lost 2 seasons of his career and is only 20 years old so he’ll have plenty of time to work on his hit tool and unlock his raw power. 

Nelly Taylor CF: A left handed hitter with great tools. He was promoted to High-A for this season and hit .216/.355/.349 for a 113 wRC+. He was able to walk 17.1% of the time but that mostly came from only swinging at 39.1% of pitches. He has a big whiff problem because of a slow leg kick and struck out 28.1% of the time. He has shown plus raw power especially for a 5’11” 180 lbs outfielder getting high exit velocities and upping his bat speed every season. He hasn’t been able to turn that into in game power yet with only 7 homers this season. He also has plus speed stealing 29 bases this season. In the outfield he has a huge arm and because of his speed he’s able to play an average centerfield currently but his routes currently still need work. He definitely still has a while to go and is only 22 years old in High-A but he has the tools and potential to be a Major League centerfielder in the future. I’m not sure what the Red Sox plan with Taylor is as he’s eligible for the Rule 5 draft after next season but definitely a solid prospect in their system currently.

Stanley Tucker UTL: The 19th round pick in the 2023 draft by the Red Sox has been injured all season with an injury since the end of August in 2024 and been out all of the 2025 season. In his mostly full first season in 2024 he struggled in Low-A hitting .195/.314/.267 wRC+ for a 77 wRC+. His main calling card is his speed getting drafted mainly for a breakout MLB Draft League where he stole 15 bases in 18 games. In 2024 he stole 23 bags in Low-A. He plays all over the field playing every outfield position, third base, and second base all in 2024. He’s a player that could carve out a career as a utility bench bat if he can make more contact. He only made contact on 73.7% of swings in 2024.

Thank you for reading for shorter breakdowns check out my Twitter @drew-durstock. Each day I'll release a new team's prospect breakdown.