Boston’s top pitching prospect has gotten off to a flying start, and now he’s beginning to earn recognition as one of the best young pitchers in the minors.
Baseball America released its latest Top 100 Prospect Rankings on Wednesday, and Red Sox right-hander Luis Perales joined Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel on the list. The 21-year-old from Venezuela debuted at No. 57, drawing praise for his expanded pitch arsenal and strike zone command.
“The introduction of a cutter to Perales’ arsenal has seen the right-hander take off in 2024,” Baseball America writes. “Perales has possessed one of the best combinations of velocity and vertical break on his fastball in the minor leagues for years. With the newfound secondary and improved strike-throwing, Perales is flashing mid-rotation upside.”
As of this writing Perales has posted a 2.87 ERA with 53 strikeouts over 31.1 innings through his first eight starts. The righty was recently promoted from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, and so far his transition has gone seamlessly, with Perales allowing one unearned run over five innings with seven strikeouts in his debut with the Sea Dogs on Sunday.
Teel also enjoyed a significant rise, jumping to No. 46 after previously ranking No. 85. Mayer (10) and Anthony (19) both remained in similar spots to where they’d ranked in the past. Teel has batted .357 with four home runs, 27 RBI and a 1.019 OPS since the start of May, and Mayer currently leads the Eastern League in hits (60), runs (43) and doubles (20) while ranking fourth in batting average (.305).
