While the Red Sox have been struggling in Boston, it has been a great week for their Double-A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs, who are 7-3 in their last 10 games, propelling them to second-place in the Eastern League's Northeast Division. That success is thanks in part to the strong work of starter John Holobetz, who was named the Eastern League's pitcher of the week by the Minor League Baseball on Monday.
John Holobetz was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week! pic.twitter.com/OH2K3EBydD
— Red Sox Player Development (@RedSoxPlayerDev) April 21, 2026
Holobetz made one start that week, and it was a dandy: he threw seven innings of one-run baseball, allowing just one hit while striking out 11 batters in Saturday night's start against the Altoona Curve.
The great outing was more of the same for Holobetz, who is off to a strong start to the 2026 season, now sporting a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings across three starts, striking out 39.7% of batters he's faced, ranking him second in the Eastern League in strikeout rate.
Selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Old Dominion, Holobetz was acquired by the Red Sox in May of 2025 from the Brewers as the player to be named later in the deal that sent pitcher Quinn Preister to Milwaukee in exchange for outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez and a 2025 Competitive Balance pick (used on Marcus Phillips).
John Holobetz deals a career-high 11 K's across seven innings of one-hit ball for the Double-A @portlandseadogs.The @RedSox No. 14 prospect across three starts this season:16 IP6 H2 R5 BB23 K pic.twitter.com/34EhWWHeEk
After spending the first month of the season with Milwaukee's Single-A affiliate, Boston assigned Holobetz to High-A Greenville, where he spent most of the 2025 season, appearing in 63 innings for the Drive with a 3.43 ERA. He earned himself a late-season promotion to Portland, making six appearances (five starts) for the Sea Dogs, posting a 2.39 ERA across 37.2 innings.
SoxProspects.com currently has Holobetz as the 14th-ranked prospect in the Red Sox system, projecting him as a potential relief arm, saying, "Potential up-and-down reliever. Ceiling of a middle reliever. Intriguing right-hander with a quality fastball and deceptive delivery, but secondary pitches lag way behind. Will initially be developed as a starter, but unlikely to stick there long-term. Has shown bat-missing ability with his fastball and could become an intriguing bullpen arm should the team move him out of the rotation, where there would be less pressure on his secondary pitches to develop."
According to MassLive's Kate Morrison-O'Day, WooSox manager Chad Tracy said that there's a “pretty good likelihood” Payton Tolle will be joining the Red Sox this week. It is expected that Tolle will make a start in place of the injured Sonny Gray.
According to the Boston Globe's Alex Speier, Red Sox fifth-ranked prospect Juan Valera will, in fact, need an MRI after exiting his last start with elbow soreness.
7 Ks in 3.2 scoreless innings for Marcus Phillips on Sunday! pic.twitter.com/UhaoQoCEyO
— Red Sox Player Development (@RedSoxPlayerDev) April 21, 2026
After struggling in his first two outings, Marcus Phillips put together the best outing of his young professional career on Sunday, striking out seven batters across 3.2 scoreless innings.
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