A look ahead at the WooSox series on the road in Toledo, key players to watch, pitching rotation
The WooSox will begin a six-game series on the road against the Toledo Mud Hens beginning Tuesday night at Fifth Third Field.
Right-hander Richard Fitts will open the series on the mound for Worcester. He has made three starts for the WooSox, and he has worked deeper into the game with each of those starts.
In his last outing, Fitts went six innings, giving up four hits and one run that was earned while hitting a batter and striking out five. The longest Fitts had gone in an outing this season was five frames in his last start at Syracuse.
Through three starts, Fitts is 1-0 and has a 2.35 ERA with 13 strikeouts and a 1.17 WHIP over 15 1/3 innings.
Fitts has been missing bats with his four-seam fastball, and his changeup has been filthy, and in the process, he’s getting whiffs on the pitch. The Auburn alum has been working on improving his changeup in order to use it against both righties and lefties.
One starting pitcher to keep an eye on in this series is Japanese righty Naoyuki Uwasawa. The right-handed hurler is coming off back-to-back starts where he earned the win and tossed five innings in each game. On his start Sunday in the series finale from Polar Park, Uwasawa looked sharp, striking out seven batters and walking one. More importantly, Uwasawa allowed just one run on five hits.
His continued development and limiting walks will elevate him up the internal depth chart for the potential next pitcher recalled if the Red Sox lose another player to an injury.
WooSox Pitching Probables for the upcoming series against the Toledo Mud Hens:
Tue: RHP Richard Fitts (1-0, 2.35)
Wed: RHP Grant Gambrell (0-2, 5.21)
Thur: RHP Brian Van Belle (0-1, 7.27)
Fri: RHP Jason Alexander (1-1, 4.34)
Sat: RHP Naoyuki Uwasawa (2-1, 4.80)
Sun: RHP Richard Fitts (1-0, 2.35)
Offensively, the WooSox will look for Niko Kavadas to pick up where he left off last week against the Durham Bulls. Kavadas went 6-for-16 (.375 AVG) with two doubles, two homers, five RBIs, and 14 total bases.
The left-handed slugger’s two homers in the series came in the April 19 game, and he tormented the Bulls pitching staff, driving in four runs.
Chase Meidroth has been a hitting machine atop Chad Tracy’s lineup, hitting .412 (7-for-17) during the series against the Bulls. The biggest key to Meidroth’s success has been his overall knowledge of the strike zone.
“Biggest impression thus far, even prior to this week, was the knowledge of the strike zone,“ Tracy said Friday night. “He finds his way onto first base, doesn't expand out of the zone, and has good bat-to-ball skills. When guys do that, you know they are going to start hitting.”
Vaughn Grissom will continue his rehab with the WooSox after playing 12 innings on the field last week.
“Coming off a soft tissue injury, it’s about making sure he gets enough sprint load, and hopefully he rifles a couple of balls out there and gets to move around the bases a bit more,” Tracy said.
The 23-year-old is locked into his rehab stint, focusing on getting as many games, innings, and at-bats under his belt before heading to Boston.
“I want to play as many games as I want, and so I just want to be able to be ready, really ready, when I go out there,” Grissom said. “It seems like they’re missing a piece, and I want to be that piece, and I want to give them the best version of myself I can.”
