SARASOTA, Fla. — By its nature and title, the Spring Breakout game offers a showcase for eye-opening year-over-year growth on the cusp of the 2026 minor league season. For the Red Sox, Anthony Eyanson used the event as a platform for just that.
The 2025 third-round pick delivered a dazzling inning against Orioles minor leaguers at Ed Smith Stadium, striking out the side on 14 pitches while topping 100 miles per hour for the first time in his life. He also got swings-and-misses on a splitter he’s worked to develop this spring, and recorded all three punchouts on a wipeout curveball.
“Obviously, I wanted to show off what I’ve been working on as far as the fastball and the splitter, and I feel like I did that tonight,” Eyanson beamed. “[I] really feel myself expanding as a pitcher, being able to use that splitter when I fall behind, getting that arm-side action, giving me a lot more options, especially with the fastball carrying and being a lot harder now. It’s just a lot different.”
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Eyanson typically worked at 92-94 m.p.h. while topping out at 97 as the No. 2 righthanded starter for LSU last year, relying more heavily on breaking balls than fastballs. This spring, after a velocity training program with the Sox, he was sitting at 97 and touching 99 before Friday’s landmark performance under the lights.
His five fastballs averaged 99.2 m.p.h., including a 100.2-m.p.h. heater. Did he realize he hit triple digits?
“I heard the dugout cheering a little bit, so I had a feeling,” said Eyanson. “I turned and looked [at the scoreboard] and I saw it.”
Eyanson entered the spring ranked the No. 13 Red Sox prospect by Baseball America. His stock is skyrocketing.
“It’s crazy to see the amount of progress that I’ve made,” he said. “I’m really excited. I feel almost like a brand new pitcher.”
With Friday’s prospect event as a backdrop, here’s a look at other notable developments among top Red Sox prospects in minor league camp this spring:
▪ SS Franklin Arias (20 years old, Baseball America’s No. 2 Red Sox prospect; likely to start 2026 in Double A): Arias has added strength and shown greater ability to pull the ball in the air to left, creating the possibility of adding a measure of power to a player who projects to hit for average and defend well at shortstop.
▪ RHP Kyson Witherspoon (21 years old, No. 4, High A): Witherspoon, the team’s 2025 first-rounder, has boosted his velocity (sitting at 97 m.p.h.) while making strides with a splitter. He shows an impressive ability to play with grips in order to create a deep arsenal. He and the Sox are exploring the combinations to maximize confusion in opposing hitters. Sox farm director Brian Abraham: “He’s honing in on the best pitches that work for him.”
▪ RHP Juan Valera (19 years old, No. 5, High A): Valera has already topped 100 m.p.h. this spring. After an elbow injury limited him to 38 innings last year, he’s focused on developing routines to stay on the mound with a power fastball/slider/changeup mix. Both the slider and changeup often register at 90 m.p.h. or above. Abraham: “He has a very electric pitch mix.”
▪ LHP Jake Bennett (25, No. 6, Triple A): Because he’s been limited to 138 minor league innings by Tommy John surgery and the lengthy rehab process associated with it, the Sox see Bennett as having room for significant growth despite being the oldest player among their top 10 prospects. Bennett’s focus with the Nationals was working in the strike zone. After trading for him, the Sox have challenged him to add more power to his arsenal. He topped out at 97.6 m.p.h. in big league camp, the hardest pitch he’s ever thrown. Abraham: “You don’t often find 25-year-olds with development opportunities like he has.”
▪ OF Justin Gonzales (19, No. 7, High A): The more exposure Gonzales gets, the more he captures the imagination because of his unlikely combination of massive size — David Ortiz compared hugging Gonzales to hugging a giant refrigerator — with an ability to swing incredibly hard while still making contact and controlling the strike zone. The Sox have seen him make strides this spring hitting the ball in the air, creating visions of turning some infield crater-makers into cloudscrapers. He’s moved well, particularly given his size, in the outfield corners, but has also played some first base this spring.
▪ SS Dorian Soto (18, No. 8, Single A): Soto is a head-turning athlete and switch-hitter who already shows a whippy, power-generating bat even as he has plenty of room to fill out. In his first exposure to the States, the most important aspect of his development is acclimating to a very different baseball setting and culture, but already, he’s offered some flashes in minor league games of the explosiveness that led the Sox to sign him to a $1.4 million bonus.
▪ RHP Marcus Phillips (21, No. 9, Single A): Phillips, the Sox’ second pick in the 2025 draft, has the build and strength of a starting pitcher, but is less polished than Eyanson or Witherspoon based on relative inexperience as a former two-way player who played high school ball in Iowa and South Dakota. While he showed triple-digit velocity in college, his natural delivery and grip this spring have led his four-seam fastball to perform almost like a mid-90s cutter. The Sox are trying to see if he’ll lean into that or try to create a true four-seam fastball as a complement, and then build out the rest of his arsenal once they establish his primary fastball shape. Abraham: “The physicality is just incredible. Just pure athleticism and stuff, he could be at times the most exciting [of the 2025 draftees].”
▪ IF Henry Godbout (22, No. 10, High A): Godbout — who homered on Friday — makes contact, swings at the right pitches, and keeps the ball off the ground. The Sox believe that, with bat speed gains and some other swing adjustments (he’s gotten to a more upright stance than he employed in college at Virginia in 2025), he can be an everyday player. He’s getting time at both short and second base, but most evaluators see him as more likely to stick at second. “We’ve had very clear goals since the beginning,” said Godbout. “It’s swing the bat harder and hit the ball in the air more. And we’re getting to a good spot.”
Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.
