Red Sox OF prospect Justin Gonzales recognized as 2025 Carolina League All-Star

Red Sox outfield prospect Justin Gonzales has been named a 2025 Carolina League All-Star, Minor League Baseball announced on Tuesday.

Gonzales spent most of his first season in the United States with Low-A Salem after making a brief one-game cameo in the rookie-level Florida Complex League in early May. From there, the right-handed hitting 18-year-old batted .298/.381/.423 with 23 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 27 RBIs, 45 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 35 walks, and 52 strikeouts in 81 games (357 plate appearances) for the Red Sox.

Among 47 qualified hitters in the Carolina League, Gonzales ranked first in batting average, second in OPS (.804), wOBA (.394), and wRC+ (131), third in slugging percentage and strikeout rate (14.6 percent), sixth in on-base percentage, 14th in swinging-strike rate (10.3 percent), and 17th in isolated power (.125), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Gonzales saw playing time at all three outfield positions for Salem. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder logged 226 1/3 innings in center field, 192 innings in right field, and 127 2/3 innings in left field, recording two assists and committing four errors in 127 total defensive chances. He also made 16 starts at DH.

Hailing from the Dominican Republic, Gonzales originally signed with the Red Sox for $250,000 as an international free agent in January 2024. As part of an impressive professional debut last season, the Bani native was recognized as a Dominican Summer League All-Star and Boston’s Minor League Latin Program Position Player of the Year.

Roughly two weeks before Salem’s season ended, Gonzales received a promotion to High-A Greenville in late August. He ended the year by going 8-for-43 (.186) with four RBIs, five runs scored, one stolen base, four walks, and 11 strikeouts in 11 games for the Drive. Overall, he slashed .281/.363/.390 with 23 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 32 RBIs, 50 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 39 walks, and 65 strikeouts over 93 total games (410 plate appearances) between the FCL, Salem, and Greenville in 2025. That includes a .309/.420/.500 line against lefties and a .275/.350/.364 line against righties.

Gonzales, who turns 19 in December, is currently ranked as the No. 7 prospect in Boston’s farm system by MLB Pipeline. At the same time, Baseball America lists him at No. 12, while SoxProspects.com has him at No. 13. Barring a trade or other surprise move this winter, he will likely return to Greenville for the start of the 2026 minor-league season.