Jedixson Paez, a 20-year-old minor league pitcher for the Red Sox, is a relatively unknown prospect with scant web information.
Baseball America does not have him in the Top 30 prospects in Boston and does not have a scouting report on him. Additionally, MLB Pipeline’s Red Sox Top 30 list does not include the righty.
However, on July 2, Fangraphs released a Top 47 Red Sox prospect ranking, and he found himself as Boston’s No. 8 prospect.
The Venezuelan pitcher is 3-1 in 13 appearances (six starts) between Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville, with a 2.67 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 72 strikeouts, and just seven walks. Just 1.1 walks and 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings are his averages. On May 29, he was promoted to High A.
Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero said of him, “He’s always had this incredible poise and just an advanced feel.” “That’s always been the case: pure off-the-charts talent or strike throwing skill at tremendous velocities. But he has amazing pitchability. The velo has now increased to the low nineties. Excellent feel for a ball that breaks. He can command and direct a four- or five-pitch mix with great ease. And in a way, that’s what has motivated his success.
The command is quite strong. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, Paez has averaged 8.8 strikeouts and 1.5 walks in 57 (45 starts) minor league games with a 3.14 ERA since Boston signed him on January 15, 2021.
Romero stated, “We are seeing that velo start to tick up a little bit now that he’s physically getting stronger.” He’s quite exciting, then. A real beginning in every way.
He has four different fastball pitches: cutter, changeup, slider, and sinker.
Romero stated that the slider, changeup, and sinker are actually his three go-to pitches.
The sinker and slider combine nicely.
Romero answered, “Because they’re going in opposite directions.” He’s quite good at manipulating both. That has been essential. He’s also made a very successful change of pace.
Romero also emphasized Paez’s physical prowess.
Romero remarked, “He does a lot of the little things like he holds runners well and fields the position really well.” Therefore, he is mature in many aspects.
Arias “has done an incredible job.”
Franklin Arias, an 18-year-old shortstop that Boston signed on January 15, 2023, out of Venezuela, is batting.296 in 41 games (167 plate appearances) in the Florida Complex League with a.419 on-base percentage, a.474 slugging percentage, a.893 OPS, three home runs, 13 doubles, one triple, 21 RBIs, 29 runs, 26 walks, 33 strikeouts, and 19 steals.
Romero declared, “He’s a really good athlete.” “He exuded professionalism and maturity during our scouting process.” quite sophisticated in terms of always knowing where to be on the field. He never gets out of hand. That’s exactly the way he is, too, in terms of his mentality. We’ve been pleasantly impressed by how far his offensive development has come. Although we had faith in his talents, he has done a fantastic job becoming more powerful and nimble.
Romero remarked, “He’s remained a really good defender.” And he’s driving the ball for the offense. He’s done an incredible job driving the ball and increasing his bat speed figures with our guys, our staff, down there. That’s something we knew would happen eventually, I believe. It could be occurring a bit sooner than anticipated. But down there, he’s smashing the ball. He has shown patience by drawing walks and not making many mistakes. Thus, all in all, he’s had a really good season. It was good to see that he did so well in the Dominican. He has carried on doing so this year.