
Red Sox prospect Connelly Early leading new wave of young pitching talent
HARTFORD, Conn. — As Connelly Early carved up the Hartford Yard Goats on Tuesday night, fellow Red Sox pitching prospect David Sandlin recounted leaning over to teammate Blake Wehunt while he watched his Portland Sea Dogs teammate pitch.
“I’m like ‘this kid is the truth’,” Sandlin said. “He’s something serious.”
It wasn’t anything Sandlin hadn’t seen before, but since the beginning of spring Early’s development has become impossible to ignore.
The fifth-round pick out of the University of Virginia in the 2023 MLB Draft, Early has established himself as one of Boston’s most promising pitching prospects and is at the forefront of the club’s burgeoning wave of young arms. The 23-year-old left-hander always boasted pinpoint command and a devastating changeup, but this spring he reported to camp boasting a mid-90s fastball after previously sitting in the 89-92 mph range, a noticeable uptick that could significantly raise his ceiling as a pitcher.
That increase in velocity has helped Early post a 1.17 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 7.2 innings through his first two starts of the season with Double-A Portland, along with the distinction of being Boston’s No. 10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
“I’ve been in a good spot to start the season,” Early said on Wednesday. “Hopefully that just keeps going up.”
Portland Sea Dogs pitching coach Juan Rivera credited Early for his work ethic, saying the lefty has spent each of the last two offseasons working out in Fort Myers. Early said developing physically has been a priority and that having access to all of the organization’s technology and metrics in Fort Myers has been a huge help in achieving his goals.
He also credited his experience at West Point, where Early played his first two seasons of college ball before transferring to Virginia, for helping prepare him for life in professional baseball.
“Obviously there’s a lot of days and a lot of things you go through that in the moment you don’t enjoy doing, and you don’t really want to have to do, but at the end of the day it makes you a way more disciplined person,” Early said. “It teaches you how to manage your time well.”
The fruits of Early’s labor were on full display once spring training began, particularly in March’s Spring Breakout game, a showcase event in which a team of the Red Sox’s top prospects took on a team representing the Tampa Bay Rays. Early got the start and pitched brilliantly, throwing three innings without allowing an earned run in what was to this point his highest-profile outing as a professional.
“Just being able to challenge myself in spring training before we got into the regular season was really nice,” Early said of the experience.
The Spring Breakout game and the following day’s Futures at Fenway Park game amounted to a coming out party for Early and several of Boston’s other up-and-coming pitchers, including Juan Valera, Brandon Clarke and Sandlin, who ranks as Boston’s No. 8 prospect. Rivera said the Red Sox’s minor league pitching depth as a whole is the deepest he’s seen in his four years with the organization, and everywhere you look you can see gains being made by the club’s young arms.
But Early in particular is proving himself a name to watch, something Sandlin said he’s known since they first became teammates at High-A Greenville last spring.
“All of us internally knew what he was capable of, even if he didn’t know it,” Sandlin said. “Going into last year in Greenville you saw it, he has that top-tier prospect arsenal and stuff and the way he handles himself is awesome, now with the velo tick-up it’s like he’s really coming together and is almost unhittable at times.”
Monegro dominates
The Sea Dogs pitching staff as a whole has gotten off to an outstanding start, and Early and Sandlin aren’t the only notable arms who have performed well so far.
Yordanny Monegro, Boston’s No. 24 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, came on late in Wednesday’s game after Brayan Bello and Liam Hendriks completed their rehab outings and struck out nine over four innings without allowing an earned run. He’s now struck out 15 batters through his first 7.1 innings with a 1.23 ERA.
Tyler Uberstine struck out 14 batters through his first 8.2 innings, and reliever Jack Anderson posted 10 strikeouts through his first 4.2 innings.
Anthony has sore shoulder
Top prospect Roman Anthony has spent the week serving as a designated hitter, and according to Chris Henrique of Boston Sports Journal he’s battling minor shoulder soreness.
That hasn’t stopped him from hammering the ball this season, however, as entering Thursday Anthony boasted a hard-hit percentage of 64.5%, meaning well over half of the balls he’s made contact on so far have been measured at 95 mph off the bat or more. Unsurprisingly the on-field results have followed, as Anthony was batting .286 with two home runs, seven RBI, 13 walks and a .941 OPS through his first 13 games.
Marcelo Mayer, Boston’s No. 3 prospect behind Anthony and Kristian Campbell, hasn’t quite been as productive out of the gate, but he’s still hit two home runs through his first 12 games at Triple-A to go along with a .200 average and .551 OPS.
Salem rebranding
The Salem Red Sox, Boston’s Low-A affiliate in Virginia, announced recently that it will undergo a rebrand this coming offseason. The announcement says the club’s new identity will be unveiled this fall and debut on Opening Day 2026, and that it reflects “the deep baseball tradition of the area, pays homage to the region’s assets, and embraces the pride and innovation that points toward an exciting future in Salem.”
The phrasing of the announcement strongly suggests the Low-A affiliate will remain in Salem, which was expected but remained somewhat uncertain given that the club’s stadium lease expired after last season. Diamond Baseball Holdings CEO Peter Freund, who owns the Salem franchise along with numerous other minor league clubs, said last fall they were in discussions with the City of Salem about a new lease. When reached for a follow-up earlier this month Freund said he didn’t have any updates on the lease but said the stadium has undergone renovations to comply with minor league baseball’s new standards.
Once a new lease and the club’s new identity are announced, it would all but ensure that Boston’s four minor league affiliates would remain stable and in their current locations for the foreseeable future. It would also likely close the door on any possibility that a Red Sox affiliate could return to Lowell, which has been without affiliated minor league baseball since the Lowell Spinners shut down in 2020.