Last Friday, the Red Sox honored Justin Gonzales and Yermain Ruiz as their 2024 Latin Program Position Player and Pitcher of the Year as part of a pre-game ceremony with the club’s six other minor-league award winners at Fenway Park.
Gonzales, 17, and Ruiz, 18, debuted in the Dominican Summer League this season after signing with the Red Sox as international free agents in January 2024 and August 2023, respectively. The former — a native of the Dominican Republic — received a $250,000 bonus while the latter — a native of Venezuela — signed on for just $10,000.
Gonzales split the 2024 campaign between DSL Red Sox Blue and DSL Red Sox Red. In 47 regular season games, the right-handed hitter batted .320/.391/.517 with 11 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 29 RBIs, 29 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 19 walks and 20 strikeouts over 192 plate appearances. He was named a DSL All-Star in July and playoff MVP in August after slashing .444/.471/.519 in seven games to help Red Sox Red take home the organization’s first DSL title since 2016.
Among the 91 DSL hitters who made at least 190 trips to the plate in the regular season, Gonzales ranked eighth in slugging percentage, ninth in batting average, 10th in strikeout rate (10.4 percent), 12th in swinging-strike rate (16.2 percent) and line-drive rate (24.1 percent), 14th in OPS (.908), 17th in isolated power (.198), 20th in wRC+ (140), and 44th in on-base percentage, per FanGraphs.
Defensively, Gonzales saw playing time at three different positions in his first professional season. The hulking 6-foot-4, 210-pounder logged 236 innings at first base, 111 innings in right field, and 13 innings in center field. He recorded two outfield assists and committed three errors (all at first base) in 250 total chances.
“He’s a monster,” Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero said of Gonzales when speaking with The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier last month. “He’s advanced physically compared to other guys. But the thing that stood out as he’s developed is his hand-to-eye. We know he can make a lot of good contact and he’s really honed his approach in terms of attacking pitches.”
Ruiz, meanwhile, spent all of 2024 with DSL Red Sox Red. In 11 regular season starts, the right-hander posted a 1.77 ERA and 4.39 FIP with 37 strikeouts to 15 walks over 45 2/3 innings in which he held opposing hitters to a .172 batting average. He then went 2-0 in his two playoff appearances, including tossing two scoreless frames of relief in Game 1 of the championship series against the DSL Angels.
Among the 53 DSL pitchers who threw at least 45 innings in the regular season, Ruiz ranked third in batting average against, seventh in WHIP (0.92), eighth in ERA, and 17th in line-drive rate (16.1 percent), according to FanGraphs.
Outside of his listed height and weight of 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, there is not much information available on Ruiz, which is understandable given the lack of fanfare that surrounded his signing last summer. He turns 19 next month and is projected to make his stateside debut in the Florida Complex League next year.
Gonzales, on the other hand, turns 18 in December. He is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 32 prospect in Boston’s farm system and is also expected to make the jump to the Florida Complex League in 2025.
