Red Sox Prospect Weekly: Gonzales debuts at Double-A, Primera posts 9 RBI in 26 PA
By James Collins ·
Fenway Farm Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Red Sox farm system.
Franklin Primera's Best Week Yet
Franklin Primera (A, C, Rank: 5) went 8-for-26 with 2 doubles, a homer, 9 RBI, 3 walks, and 3 hit-by-pitches across 26 plate appearances last week, striking out just once. That is the most productive week of his young pro career by run-production, and it fits a broader pattern that has become difficult to dismiss. Over his last 30 days at Low-A Salem, he is slashing .397/.549/.632 with an 86.2 percent contact rate and a strikeout rate of just 7.7 percent. For a 19-year-old catcher in full-season ball, those are not normal numbers.
The full 2026 combined line across Salem and the Florida Complex League sits at .381/.514/.615 with 12 home runs, 44 walks, and 31 strikeouts in 297 plate appearances. He has a 55 hit tool and average power projection, with the realistic ceiling framed as a major-league backup if the bat holds. But the contact rate of 82.3 percent for the season, paired with a swing rate of 44.6 percent, suggests a hitter who is being selective and making things happen when he does offer. The honest caveat is that FCL and Low-A pitching are a different test than what awaits at High-A and above, and there will come a point where better velocity and spin sequences give a real read on whether this profile is as good as it looks right now. Last season in the DSL he posted similar zone discipline, .333/.465/.430 with 15 strikeouts in 172 plate appearances, so this is not a one-month flash.
Defensively, Primera still has a lot of work to do. The hands behind the plate are still crude and teams are testing his throwing arm. At two levels, teams have attempted 166 steals across 44 games and have been caught just 16% of the time. That being said, the kid is 19 and has time. A 19-year-old catcher who strikes out once in 26 plate appearances while driving in 9 runs warrants a harder look at the bench-only projection. I would take the over on that ceiling.
Justin Gonzales: Double-A Debut at 19
Justin Gonzales (AA, OF, Rank: 3) was promoted from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland on August 18, becoming one of the younger position players in the Eastern League. In his first four games at the new level, he went 5-for-18 with a triple, a home run, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts across 18 plate appearances. The power showed up immediately, consistent with where he was trending: over his last 30 days at High-A, he slashed .312/.433/.571 with 5 home runs, 13 walks, and a 74.9 percent contact rate in 97 plate appearances. The promotion was a natural next step.
The full High-A line of .271/.391/.463 with 17 home runs and 56 walks in 422 plate appearances is a legitimate profile for a 19-year-old corner outfielder, especially one with a 13.3 percent walk rate and an 18.7 percent strikeout rate that keeps the approach from tipping into boom-or-bust territory. He is a bat-first left fielder with 55 raw power and a 50 hit tool, and the projection sits at second-division regular if the swing adjustments that generate loft continue to hold. The main risks are well-established: he is not a burner and his range limits him to a corner, which means the offensive bar at Double-A will tell us a lot about whether he is on an everyday path or trending toward a power-off-the-bench outcome. His combined 2026 total stands at 18 home runs across both levels, already a significant jump from the 4 he managed all of last season. Four games is a small sample at Portland, but the bat did not back down when the level went up, and that matters.
Quick Hits
Adonys Guzman (A, C, Rank: 40) · drove in 5 on 7 hits, including a homer, while drawing 4 walks in just 14 plate appearances. His 10th home run of the combined season came with a contact rate that remains a work in progress at 70.8 percent, but a 13.9 percent walk rate across 280 plate appearances shows the plate discipline is real. The __-grade arm is the carrying defensive tool and the offensive gains this year have been a genuine development story.
Henry Godbout (AA, SS, Rank: 13) · hit 3 home runs in 19 plate appearances at Double-A Portland, giving him 10 on the year across three levels. The pop is a new development: he carries a 40 power grade and a 55 hit tool, with the profile built around contact and on-base skills rather than over-the-fence production. Over his last 30 days at Double-A the strikeout rate has climbed to 23.3 percent and the walk rate has dipped, which is worth watching. Three homers in a week from a player whose power has historically been light is an interesting data point, even if it is too soon to regrade the tool.
Luke Heyman (A+, C, Rank: 45) · went 7-for-17 with a double, a homer, and 2 walks across 17 plate appearances. His 17th home run of the combined season keeps him on pace as a productive power catcher in the system. He has a 55 power grade and a second-division ceiling, and the 17.2 percent combined walk rate gives him an OBP foundation to work with even when the contact rate dips. The swing-and-miss at 22.9 percent for the year remains the primary obstacle between where he is and what the projection says he can be.
Louis Andujar (A, SS, Rank: 20) · posted 6 hits, a homer, 2 doubles, and 5 walks in 26 plate appearances. Over his last 30 days at Low-A he is slashing .333/.459/.550 with a 13.5 percent walk rate and 3 home runs, showing offensive activity that made him interesting as an 18-year-old. The strikeout rate at 23.6 percent for the season is the main concern given a 45 hit tool grade, but the power-walk combination at this age gives the profile real room to grow.
Owen Hull (A+, OF, Rank: 4) · reached base in all 19 plate appearances via 5 hits, 5 walks, and a hit-by-pitch without driving in a run, a reminder that his value right now lives more in the on-base side than the run-production side. He is hitting .316/.437/.456 over his last 30 days at High-A with a 15.5 percent strikeout rate. A 50 hit tool and 50 power grade with above-average speed and defensive chops in center gives him a second-division ceiling if the bat keeps performing at this clip.
Starlyn Nunez (A, SS, Rank: 44) · had 4 hits and a homer in 19 plate appearances with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts, contributing 6 RBI. The walk rate this week was notably better than his season norm; he is at a 9.4 percent clip for the year with a 26.5 percent strikeout rate. His 12 home runs on the season show the 50 power grade has something behind it, and the 18 stolen bases add another dimension to a profile that projects as a bat-first third baseman if the contact and discipline sharpen at higher levels.
Brooks Brannon (AA, C, Rank: 37) · was limited to 11 plate appearances but still collected 4 hits including a double and 2 RBI. He now has 19 home runs on the season at Double-A Portland with a .574 slugging percentage in 341 plate appearances. The 30.2 percent strikeout rate continues to define his ceiling risk, and the aggressive swing profile at 53.1 percent over his last 30 days keeps the bat firmly in boom-or-bust territory. The 55 power grade is the carrying tool, and it has shown up all year.
Mason White (AA, SS, Rank: 47) · went 3-for-13 with a double, 2 walks, and a hit-by-pitch across 13 plate appearances. The transition to Double-A has been bumpy: a .207 batting average and 29.9 percent strikeout rate at Portland compare unfavorably with his .270/.362/.525 line at High-A Greenville earlier this season. He is a 50/50 hit-power profile with a second-division ceiling if everything holds, but the jump to Double-A has shown the margin for error in that projection.
Berny Ortiz (A, RHP, Rank: 51) · threw 3.1 innings of two-hit, scoreless ball with 3 strikeouts and no walks at Low-A Salem. After a difficult run in the FCL, his limited work at Salem this year carries a 1.86 ERA with a 5.3 percent walk rate in 9.2 innings, a meaningful contrast to the 10.20 ERA and 19.0 percent walk rate in the complex. The fastball sits 91-93 and the command grades at 40, so the sample is small, but the strike-throwing in full-season ball has been cleaner than anything he showed in the FCL last year.
Blake Wehunt (AAA, RHP, Rank: 27) · allowed 1 earned run on 3 hits over 4.2 innings with 4 strikeouts at Worcester. The season-long Triple-A numbers tell a complicated story: a 3.65 ERA but only a 13.5 percent strikeout rate and a 10.8 percent walk rate against batters, a significant step back from the 33.0 percent strikeout rate he posted at Double-A Portland. A 93-95 mph fastball with a slider as the primary weapon gives him a back-end starter floor, but the bat-missing numbers have not traveled to Triple-A the way the ERA has, and that gap warrants watching as he works toward an up-and-down role.
Marcus Phillips (A+, RHP, Rank: 11) · was placed on the 7-day injured list at Greenville on August 19. The nature of the injury has not been confirmed. His last appearance before the placement came on August 18, and his season line at High-A sits at a 6.71 ERA over 61.2 innings with 73 strikeouts and 51 walks, a ratio that points to a high-ceiling arm still working through command development rather than a finished product.