Chase Shugart 'sweeping the ball at insane level' in midst of head-turning season for WooSox
Worcester Red Sox pitcher Chase Shugart doesn’t consider himself a prospect anymore.
Shugart, who was drafted by the Red Sox in the 12th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, has been pitching in Worcester since 2022. While the past two seasons were tough sledding for Shugart, his 2024 has been one of his best seasons so far in the Red Sox system.
“Being able to attack the strike zone and have the strikeout pitch working,” Shugart said of what is working this season. “Last year it was something I was trying to get ahead on was trying to punch more guys out. I never really got there last year. I took it into the offseason and developed a sinker and have tried to perfect my sweeper, which has become a big pitch for me this. I am confident enough to throw it in any count. It is a put away pitch and a strike pitch for me. Filling up the strike zone and limiting damage where I need to limit damage is what has really led to success.”
After throwing 46 innings out of the Worcester bullpen last season, Shugart posted a K/9 of 7.6, which is the second lowest strikeout per nine in his professional career.
Pitching development is always going to be a bit of a roller coaster ride when a prospect goes through the minors. Paul Skenes is obviously a rare exception to that rule, but almost every pitcher has to struggle before they find the ultimate success that leads them to the major league.
“You can’t let the highs be too high and the lows be too low is what I took from last year,” Shugart said. “I would have lights out outings sometimes and then have outings when I couldn’t even get an out. Being able to ride that medium line and trying to be that same person I am every single day if it’s going good or bad. Rooting for the guys with me and trying to win ballgames is what has really helped me.”
Shugart has played his entire WooSox career for manager Chad Tracy, who has nothing but praise for how “awesome” his resurgence has been this year after going through some hard times the past couple of seasons.
“He has been awesome over the last month,” Tracy said of Shugart. “The last couple of outings were great but the one before that was a rough one. I told him as he was going off the mound to not beat himself because I couldn’t remember the last time he had a bad outing. Everyone is going to have a bad one from time to time. He has not had too many bad ones over the last two months. He has been sweeping the ball at an insane level. He has around 24 inches of sweep which is something new. He was working on stuff, but he has a sweeper now that moves 24 inches, which is 7 inches larger than the plate so he can backdoor the sweepers. He can start balls well off the plate to lefties and backdoor a slider. He can start balls on the edge to righties and it is going to sweep off the edge. He is learning how to control that pitch and now he is throwing harder. He was around 95-96 MPH last year but now he is sitting mostly around 97-98 MPH this year. He is doing himself favors by staying in the strike zone and limiting the amount of walks.”
In Triple-A, players have the unique experience of playing with guys who have years of MLB service time. Shugart doesn’t take that experience for granted and knows he has to take advantage of it.
“I have talked with Brad Keller about his pitch grips,” Shugart said of bouncing ideas off MLB veterans. “He asked me about my sweeper, and I have asked him about his gyro-slider. He likes to throw it and throws it hard and consistently gets swing and misses on it. I am trying to be able to fill the zone up with my cutter like he has his whole career. He has five years of MLB service time so that is a guy that I would like to be around and see how he goes about his work every day. He is the same guy every day. He didn’t have an outing he wanted the other day, but he came in the next day with a smile on his face. That is a big thing we need to do as ballplayers is to continue to be the same person every single day.”
When thinking about a pitcher who may have benefitted the most from the new pitching minds in the Red Sox organization, Shugart has to be towards the top of the list after rebounding in a big way in 2024.
“There are really preaching having confidence in your best stuff,” Shugart said of the Boston pitching development. “Some people’s best stuff is their off-speed, and some people’s best stuff is their fastball. Luckily for me, I have been blessed with an arm that can run it up to 98 MPH. I have a hard heater and I can spin the ball very well. Really just attacking the zone and throwing nasty stuff in the zone. They say it in every meeting and say it every day. Just pound the strike zone with nasty stuff.”
It’s never really a secret about what guys might be performing well at the levels below Triple-A, and Shugart is always keeping his eye on the guys who are next to join the team in Worcester. While everyone has had their eyes on the “Big 3” in the Red Sox system, Shugart has kept track of other guys who might impact the team as well.
“I am really happy Mickey Gasper is on our team now,” Shugart said of new teammates. “I have faced him since 2019 and I remember very few at-bats from anyone I faced but Mickey always stuck out. He has a plan and sticks to it and either going to take four pitches and get to first base or battle the whole at-bat. I played with Nick Yorke in 2021 and he went on a crazy run at the end of the season in Greenville. He was swinging it then how he is now. Being able to keep doing it successfully is by him not letting himself get too high or get too low. I also always see what Hunter Dobbins does. I saw him in spring, and I think he had a rough outing but he was back on track the next outing. To see what he has done this year is awesome. He is another pitcher who has turned heads this year like Zach Penrod did. Alex Hoppe throws the ball really hard, but I didn’t really get to see him much in spring due to being injured. It is cool to see all the guys we have in the system now compared to 2018. I feel like we have a lot more talent in the system now.”
