Red Sox top pitching prospect has impressive season experience after injury return unfortunately he will…
The injury bug has been vicious this season, particularly against the Boston Red Sox. Not even their minor league system can escape the injuries.
Top Red Sox pitching prospect, Luis Perales, is headed for Tommy John surgery. The young righty will miss the rest of the 2024 season and he’ll be rehabbing for much of 2025. The Sea Dogs were optimistic that his elbow injury wasn’t serious, but his MRI revealed the dreaded ulnar collateral ligament damage.
The 21-year-old is the No. 9 prospect in Boston’s system and he made a huge jump to No. 57 in Baseball America’s top 100 this year. He’s held a Red Sox 40-man roster spot all year after an impressive spring training because the organization does not intend to lose him to the Rule 5 draft.
Perales has pitched to a 2.94 ERA in 33.2 innings across nine starts between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland. He’s fanned 56 batters and allowed just 12 walks. Perales was projected to reach MLB readiness by 2026, but Tommy John surgery recovery may put a significant damper on his progress.
Red Sox pitching prospect Luis Perales will undergo Tommy John surgery
The Venezuela native was promoted to Double-A in late May. His two starts there were short but excellent. He logged a 1.23 ERA in Portland before he was pulled after 2.1 innings on June 8 due to elbow discomfort.
As devastating as it can be, it seems like most pitchers will undergo Tommy John surgery at some point in their careers. While the procedure will stall Perales’ development, he still has a promising career ahead of him.
The Boston Red Sox look like a different team from the one that dropped two games to the MLB-worst Chicago White Sox two weeks ago.
Fans were convinced that Boston needed to sweep Chicago to stay on track. They had two rough matchups against the NL-leading Phillies and MLB-best Yankees coming and some argued it would be the Red Sox’s hardest stretch of the season.
But Boston’s bats woke up at just the right moment. Red Sox who struggled in the early going of the season found themselves offensively. Players who were hot continued their streaks. They caused havoc on the base paths.
Everything went the Sox’s way against their two toughest opponents of the year so far and they carried their momentum into a sweep of the division-rival Blue Jays. Boston has played its best baseball of the season recently — without Wilyer Abreu or Triston Casas — but these three players’ performances shined above the rest.
The Red Sox signed a struggling Ceddanne Rafaela to an eight-year contract extension in April. Some fans were optimistic about his future, and others were told to be patient. Rafaela’s recent stats show the player the front office expected him to be has arrived.
