The Red Sox‘ plan is for two-way prospect Conrad Cason to pitch and be a position player right away this season.
They aren’t going to begin with one and then add the other as the 18-year-old’s first year of pro ball progresses. He’ll begin his 2025 season doing both whether that’s at Low-A Salem or later when the Florida Complex League begins.
Cason might be Boston’s most exciting prospect heading into spring training because the organization is letting him do something only Shohei Ohtani has mastered in modern baseball. Brooks Kieschnick (with the Brewers in 2003-04) and Michael Lorenzen (with the Reds in 2018-21) played two ways but not full-time like Ohtani.
Boston drafted Cason in the eighth round in 2024 out of Greater Atlanta Christian School in Georgia as a pitcher/shortstop. MLB Pipeline already ranks him Boston’s No. 15 prospect and listed him as the organization’s top 2025 breakout prospect candidate.
Red Sox amateur scouting director Devin Pearson said in July some of Boston’s talent evaluators liked him better as a pitcher while others liked him better as a position player entering the draft.
So why not have him do both?
“There’s definitely a plan. I don’t know if there’s really a (way to) ease your way into being a two-way player,” director of player development Brian Abraham said. “We’ll have him do both. He’s preparing this offseason to be a position player and pitcher. I think the biggest thing is managing his workload on both sides.
“You can’t just take a full load of a pitcher and full load of a position player (for him),” Abraham added. “So I think balancing that is really valuable. But our pitching group and our hitting group has worked really well together as well as our defensive group because of the shoulder piece (keeping his throwing shoulder strong) to manage his workload.”
The Red Sox are unsure yet whether Conrad will begin his pro career at Salem or the Florida Complex League.
Conrad was drafted last June at just 17. He turned 18 in August and so he was on the young side for his draft class. It’s likely he begins in the FCL but one person in the organization said he “wouldn’t be shocked” if he starts in Salem.
“A lot of power. A fastball that reaches the upper-90s,” Abraham said. “I think the secondary stuff is still a work in progress. The secondary stuff is all about feel and consistency. So I think we’ll kind of work our way through that. … But a guy who’s fast-twitch, ton of power — it comes off on his bat as well. The ability to impact the baseball. A big focus for him this offseason was adding strength, adding weight … to impact the baseball when he swings and then when he’s throwing the baseball as well, which he did. He’s added some really good weight. There’s still some time to go before spring training so we’re hoping for a little bit more. But again, we’re really excited about the progress he’s made and the chance for him to impact the baseball on both sides of the ball.”
MLB Pipeline ranked Cason the 102nd-best player in the 2024 draft but he was taken at pick No. 237 in the eighth round.
His signing bonus of $1.25 million was the highest bonus of any eighth-rounder and well above the pick’s $219,900 slot value.
“He has the ability to manipulate the barrel and drive the ball the other way when needed,” Abraham said. “But when he pulls the ball effectively in the air, there’s a lot of power there.”
His MLB Pipeline scouting report notes, “Cason worked at 93-95 mph and touched 97-98 throughout his senior season, showing the ability to ride his fastball up or sink it down in the zone. He does a great job of killing spin on his low-80s split-grip changeup, which tumbles at the plate and shows signs of becoming a plus pitch. His tight slider has similar velocity and could become a solid offering with more development. One of the younger top prospects in the 2024 Draft, he gets down the mound well but his delivery can get too quick at times, leading to inconsistent control.”
“On both sides, you have an elite athlete who can throw 100 mph and hit balls very far,” Pearson said in July. “We will take that bet and see where he best fits but we’re going to develop him as a two-way player.”
Nelly Taylor, breakout candidate
As mentioned, MLB Pipeline named Cason as the Red Sox’ 2025 breakout prospect candidate.
Meanwhile, Baseball America recently published an article with breakout candidates and included three Red Sox prospects — outfielder Nelly Taylor, left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle and right-handed pitcher Juan Valera.
MassLive wrote a feature in September 2023 about how Taylor beat cancer as a kid.
Taylor won Red Sox minor league Defensive Player of the Year last year.
“Tracks the ball down as well as anyone in our outfield in our system and brings value in a lot of different ways,” Abraham said. “He can run really well. So I think we’re just looking at consistency.”
Taylor needs to be more consistent offensively. He showed glimpses last year, going 11-for-38 (.289) with a .341 on-base percentage,.553 slugging percentage, two homers, two doubles and one triple in his final 10 games after a promotion to High-A Greenville late in the season.
He finished with a .233/.337.376/.713 line in 111 games. But he had a strong second half, including posting a .291/.380./494./874 line in 22 games in August.
“He’s added some really good weight,” Abraham said. “Any time you talk about pitch selection and bat-to-ball, those are areas that are going to be valuable whether you’re at A ball or the big leagues. He spent all offseason in Fort Myers. He’s still there now. So continuing to train in those areas as well as combining that with getting stronger and being able to swing the bat fast. I think you’re talking about a guy who’s got a lot of potential, a lot of upside.”
Payton Tolle’s velo
Left-handed pitching prospect Payton Tolle, Boston’s 2024 second round pick, certainly has the size to add fastball velocity. He’s 6-foot-6, 270 pounds.
He throws his heater 90-96 mph and “likes to rock around that 91-93 mph range.”
“Whenever I get going this season, I want it to be up to 94, 95, 96,” Tolle said last month.
Abraham said adding velo is a major focus.
“He’s added some really good strength this offseason,” Abraham said. “A ton of deception with his fastball and really unique pitching qualities. But I think if you asked him, my hope is he would say his fastball velo — that’s been a real focus. Whether that be added strength with his body or just continuing to work with that Plyo program and are on-field program to get stronger. I believe his fastball velo is going to tick up with his other pitches as well. We’re talking about a left-handed arm that could be impactful wherever he starts this year and throughout his career.”
Kristian Campbell’s improved arm
Red Sox area scout Kirk Fredriksson who scouted Kristian Campbell at Georgia Tech said there were multiple reasons why Campbell was overlooked in the 2023 MLB Draft.
Campbell was a fourth round pick. Baseball America now ranks him No. 24 on its Top 100 list.
Arm strength was one of those things Fredriksson mentioned.
“There were questions about the arm,” he said. “And I don’t think you have those questions anymore.”
Campbell said, “We’ve been working on it. Really just getting my mechanics better. That’s really the main thing. I’ve always had pretty good arm strength. Really it’s just being able to use it and let it play all around the field, especially the outfield and third base. … Just getting my mechanics sound so I can use my arm in all those different positions.”
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