WEYMOUTH, Mass. (September 12, 2024) 一 The path from the Futures League ballpark to Fenway Park has been traveled for the second time in a month.
Appearing for the hometown Boston Red Sox last Sunday, former Brockton Rox pitcher Luis Guerrero became the 23rd all-time Futures League alum to make his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut and the fifth to do so during the 2024 season.
Guerrero was selected from the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox last Friday and debuted two days later with 0.2 scoreless innings to finish a game against the Chicago White Sox. He then pitched against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, recording his first two strikeouts in the bigs as part of a 1.1-inning outing.
Guerrero’s climb included his Brockton stint during the memorable “COVID season” of 2020, appearing in two games and striking out three in 3.1 innings. The product of Chipola College in Florida became a 17th-round draft pick of the Red Sox just a year later and is now the seventh member of the Futures League’s 27-member 2021 draft class to play in a MLB game.
The 24-year-old right-hander, who currently ranks as MLB Pipeline’s No. 28 prospect in the Red Sox organization, posted a 3.31 ERA and 13.09 strikeouts per nine innings in 42 Triple-A games prior to his recall last weekend. He had allowed just one run in his last 10 outings for the WooSox, striking out 23 in 13.1 innings over that span.
With a fastball touching 100 miles per hour, Guerrero entered this season as the reigning Red Sox Minor League Reliever of the Year after ranking third in all of affiliated baseball with 19 saves between the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and Worcester. He also appeared in the 2023 MLB All-Star Futures Game.
Guerrero is the third Futures League product to play for the Red Sox and follows 2016 Most Valuable Player Mickey Gasper as the second to make his MLB debut with Boston this season. A Merrimack, N.H., native who played for the Nashua Silver Knights and Bryant University, Gasper debuted on August 12 and appeared in 10 games before returning to Worcester.
Former Brockton and Sacred Heart University infielder Zack Short also spent time with Boston earlier this year, playing in a pair of May games before moving to his current home in the Atlanta Braves organization. Guerrero, Short and former University of Virginia star Zack Gelof make Brockton the fifth all-time Futures League club to produce three MLB alumni, all debuting over the past four seasons.
Guerrero, like Gasper, was raised in New England. After being born in the Dominican Republic, he grew up in Boston's Franklin Park neighborhood.
The first Futures League alum to play in a MLB game this season was former Bristol Blue and Georgia Tech product Justyn-Henry Malloy, who got the call from the Detroit Tigers earlier this month. Malloy played in his first game on June 3 and hit his first home run two days later.
The 2020 Futures League MVP from Cohasset, Mass., former Worcester Bravehearts and Dartmouth College catcher Ben Rice completed his climb to the New York Yankees on June 18, totaling seven homers and 22 RBI over his first 40 games.
Just weeks after Gasper’s aforementioned debut, Ben Casparius became the first Futures Leaguer to win his MLB debut as a reliever on August 31 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The native of Westport, Conn., who formerly pitched for the New Britain Bees and the University of Connecticut was the Futures League’s Co-Top Pro Pitching Prospect in 2020, less than a year before being drafted.
Former Martha’s Vineyard Sharks and Wheaton College catcher Nick Raposo was recalled to the St. Louis Cardinals on June 22, but never appeared in a major league game. Raposo has since joined the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
For the latest news and information on the Futures League all year long, visit thefuturesleague.com and follow the league’s Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram pages.
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