Red Sox pitching prospect Juan Valera has been named a 2024 Florida Complex League All-Star, Minor League Baseball announced on Thursday.
Unlike fellow FCL All-Star Franklin Arias, Valera is not currently regarded by Baseball America or MLB Pipeline as one of the top 30 prospects in Boston’s farm system. SoxProspects.com slates him in at No. 27 on its list, which ranks 12th among pitchers in the organization.
Valera appeared in 11 games (nine starts) for the rookie-level FCL Red Sox this season. The 18-year-old right-hander posted a 1.79 ERA and 3.25 FIP with 40 strikeouts to 14 walks over 40 1/3 innings. Opposing hitters batted just .128 against him.
Among 26 FCL pitchers who threw at least 40 innings in 2024, Valera led in both batting average against and WHIP (0.77). He also ranked second in FIP and line-drive rate (8.8 percent), third in ERA and groundball rate (56 percent), sixth in walks per nine innings (3.12), walk rate (9.1 percent), and strikeout rate (26 percent), seventh in xFIP (3.94), ninth in swinging-strike rate (16 percent) and 13th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.93), per FanGraphs.
Like the aforementioned Arias, Valera was promoted from the FCL to Low-A Salem on July 23. He has since pitched to a 1.65 ERA (3.95 FIP) with 15 strikeouts to 12 walks through his first five starts (16 1/3 innings) for Boston’s Carolina League affiliate. While the walks are clearly up, he has held opponents to a .098 batting average thus far.
Valera, who turned 18 in May, originally signed with the Red Sox for $45,000 as an international free agent coming out of the Dominican Republic in April 2023. The Sabana Grande de Palenque native made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League last June but has really emerged as one to watch this year.
“We’re super high on this kid,” Red Sox director of pitching Justin Willard told The Boston Globe’s Sarah Barber earlier this month. “He’s starting to get to some pretty cool shapes from a pitch-design standpoint. We’re very excited about this kid, and he’s only continued to go out there and kind of hammer the things that he needs to for his long-term development as well.”
Standing at a projectable 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Valera operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a fastball that has sat between 94-99 mph this season, a slider, a sweeper, and a changeup. As noted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report, “he checks a lot of boxes that you look for in a pitching prospect his age.”
“This kid, he shows up every day and just gets his work done,” Salem pitching coach Juan Rivera said of Valera in a separate conversation with Barber last week. “If I don’t see him one time during the day, I know for a fact he still got his work in without me having to hover over him. He’s just a really autonomous player, understands his routines and what he needs to accomplish, and just crushes it.”
