Eduardo Rivera is making the most of his time in Greenville

When most people think of the Red Sox farm system, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are the first two players to come to mind. The talented duo have been human highlight reels and frustrated opposing pitchers. However, there are also plenty of other talented prospects, including Eduardo Rivera. Through the first two months of the season, he has been impressive for the Greenville Drive. 

In five starts, the talented 21-year-old has posted a 1.06 ERA and struck out 28 batters. So far this season, Rivera has held opponents to a .091 batting average and shown excellent control. Whenever he takes the mound, Rivera has been hard to get on base against. 

After struggling in High-A last year, Rivera has looked like a different pitcher. In four games for the Athletics High-A affiliate, the Puerto Rican native posted an 11.88 ERA and allowed 11 earned runs. He struggled with control as opponents hit .314 against him. 

Although the ending to the 2024 campaign did not go as planned, Rivera was able to show enough in the Puerto Rican Winter League to draw the Red Sox’s interest. In 39 innings, he only allowed five earned runs while striking out 56 batters. Since joining the Red Sox organization, he has been able to build on his success.

Going forward, the key for Rivera will be to keep improving his control. This year, the former 11th-round has shown that he is hard to face when he's missing bats and not walking people. He is not ranked as one of the organization's top prospects, but he has the potential to be a solid depth arm.

As the innings add up, it will be interesting to see if Rivera's hot start continues. He has not allowed more than two hits in a start this season and pitched at least four innings in every outing this month. If his success continues, he may not be in High-A for very long.