After an active trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox farm system dropped 12 spots in Baseball America’s latest rankings, falling into the bottom 10 in the sport. While the trade for All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman cost Boston four of its top 10 prospects, there is still plenty of talent remaining in the system, including catcher Franklin Primera, who has skyrocketed up to the No. 3-ranked prospect in the organization thanks to a massive year in his first stateside season. 

After signing with the Red Sox for $10,000 out of Venezuela as part of the 2024 international free agent class, the 19-year-old catcher made his United States debut in 2026, beginning in the Florida Complex League, where he quickly proved to be too advanced for the level. 

In 32 games in the FCL, Primera hit .427/.549/.718/1.267 while winning Player of the Month honors for June. Evidently, the Red Sox brass saw all it needed from Primera at the level and promoted him to Single-A Salem on June 30. 

In his first nine games with the RidgeYaks, he struggled to a .177/.317/.206/.523 slash line before quickly finding his footing. In the 23 games that have followed, Primera is hitting .413/.548/.700/1.248, propelling him from the No. 36-ranked prospect in the system by SoxProspects.com all the way to No. 3. Primera again added to his awards shelf, hitting .417/.600/.790/1.390 en route to being named the Carolina League Player of the Week from Aug. 11 - 16. 

Primera followed up his award-winning week with an incredible 3-for-6 performance in Tuesday’s 21-4 Salem win, where he was responsible for driving in seven of Salem’s runs. 

Overall, Primera is hitting .377/.511/.623/1.134 in 55 games across both levels, while his 185 weighted runs created plus (wRC+) ranks third among all minor leaguers with at least 130 plate appearances. 

“Offensive-minded catcher that is a good defensive catcher as well,” Red Sox Senior Director of Player Development Brian Abraham said of the 19-year-old on the ‘Baseball Isn’t Boring’ show on Sunday. “Franklin has shown us that he does things really well at the plate, swings at the right pitches, hits the ball hard to all fields, and he continues to get better every day… There’s been a significant amount of growth… I’ve been really pleased with the progress made in season,” he continued. 

In 2025, the Red Sox quickly promoted outfielder Justin Gonzales to Salem after just one game in the FCL. After hitting .291 with an .804 OPS in 81 games for Salem, the team aggressively promoted him to High-A Greenville for the final two weeks of the minor league season. If Primera continues to hit as well as he has through his first 33 contests, he could see his third promotion of the season. 

After signing for a record-setting $1.5 million bonus, Red Sox’ ninth-round selection, outfielder Martin Shelar, made his professional debut on Wednesday night in Salem, batting second and playing center field in the RidgeYaks’ 8-0 win. The 19-year-old kicked off his pro career going 1-for-5 in his debut. He is currently ranked as the No. 14 prospect in the system per SoxProspects. 

Gonzales made his Double-A debut this week after being promoted from Greenville on Sunday night. The 6-foot-5 outfielder immediately made his presence known atop the Portland lineup, going 3-for-8, including his first home run at the level in his first two games. 

Boston’s top-rated prospect, shortstop Franklin Arias, continues to knock on the door to the big leagues. In 20 games since being promoted to Triple-A, he is hitting .291/.356/.494/.850 with four home runs. All while being the second-youngest player at the level. 

After taking two of three from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Red Sox will welcome Rafael Devers and the San Francisco Giants to Fenway Park for a three-game weekend set that gets underway on Friday night. Sonny Gray (15-3, 2.65 ERA) will get the start for Boston opposite Logan Webb (8-7, 3.50 ERA) for San Francisco. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET. 

Episode 62 of the ‘Entering Kenmore’ Podcast is live. Zach Coe and David Azer discuss the latest injuries to the Red Sox bullpen, recap the series against the Diamondbacks, and discuss the impending returns of Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe on YouTube! 

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