Thursday brought the first busy day yet for Boston Red Sox minor leaguers on the backfields.
A trending theme of the day was all about young hitting prospect Mikey Romero.
Romero received a non-roster invite to big league camp this spring for the first time in his career and he is starting it off strong. Although the pitchers he faced today were all minor leaguers, the sound coming off his bat all day stood out among his peers, which included Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela hitting alongside him.
The morning started with right-handed pitcher Jack Anderson throwing live batting practice to a group of hitters that included Romero, Yophery Rodriguez, and Isaiah Jackson. Anderson, who posted a 3.58 ERA and a 10.8 K/9 over 75 innings with Double-A Portland last season, will be leaving camp at the end of the month to join Great Britain in the WBC. The 26-year-old was clocked at 94 mph today, which is an uptick from his velocity last year.
Next up were a pair of Portland arms in Blake Wehunt and Hayden Mullins to throw live BPs. Wehunt battled a lat injury last season that cost him a few outings and even when healthy, his velo was down. He touched 97 mph today, which is a career high. Mullins was rumored to be a potential Rule 5 Draft target for a couple of teams around the league but ultimately ended up not being selected and is back in Red Sox camp. The lefty has touched 96 mph this spring, which is also an uptick from last season.
Someone who caught my eye today was the Red Sox's 2024 10th-round pick, Devin Futrell. Futrell made his professional debut during the 2025 season and quietly put together a great year, splitting time between Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville. The big lefty made it a priority to add weight this offseason and linked up with Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet to train together in Nashville. With all the buzz surrounding Crochet's new splitter, Futrell also has added the pitch to his arsenal and debuted it on Thursday.
Another name to watch is Adam Bates. Bates is still only 20 years old and he is the only Australian pitching prospect in the system. The right-hander flashed a fastball at 95.5 mph today, which is a career best compared to his season average in Low-A Salem last year of 91 mph. While facing Wilyer Abreu in his live at-bat, he called for the trainers about an issue with his hamstring. He got carted to the locker room but seemed confident afterward that he would not miss much time.
Red Sox Australian pitching prospect Adam Bates throwing a live BP against Wilyer Abreu pic.twitter.com/RMMluaOFUi
— Andrew Parker (@ByAndrewParker) February 12, 2026
The Red Sox's 2024 second-round draft pick, Nazzan Zanetello, has struggled since turning pro and this year has not gotten off to a good start. Zanetello had a nasty bout with food poisoning and lost over ten pounds right before getting to camp.
With the random small signing of the day, a source told me the Red Sox signed pitcher Harrison Blum to a minor league contract. Blum finished his college career last year at Augustana College and is listed at 6'7 240 pounds, which is exactly what the organization values. Blum is projected to start the season in Low-A Salem.