Connelly Early sharp in his second Greenville Drive start
Red Sox pitching prospect Connelly Early has looked sharp through his first two starts for the Greenville Drive this season. The lefty has given up just one run over the first nine innings on the mound with 13 strikeouts.
Early’s second start came on Saturday night against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. The southpaw was excellent at tossing five innings of three-hit baseball; he gave up one run off three hits while walking one and striking out seven. He threw 76 pitches (49 strikes) and owns a 13.00 K/9 with a 1.00 ERA and a 0.86 FIP through the two starts.
The left-hander’s only trouble during the game came in the first inning after he retired the first two batters. Early issued a two-out walk to Xavier Isaac that was followed by Cooper Kinney’s triple into right field.
After the first frame, Early would settle down, setting the order down in a row in the second and third inning. He would issue a double in the fourth and a single in the fifth; neither hit resulted in any additional runs on the scoreboard.
Unfortunately, Early was not part of the decision due to the bullpen falling apart after he came out. Zach Fogell, who took the loss and was credited with a blown save, gave up three earned runs with two walks and two strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings, and right-hander Conor Steinbaugh was roughed up for six earned runs off eight hits in the losing effort.
Early, a native of Midlothian, Va., is in his first full season with the Red Sox organization after he was drafted in the fifth round, No. 151 overall, in last year’s amateur draft.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound lefty features a four-pitch mix, a low 90s fastball, sweeping slider, curveball, and changeup. According to SoxProspects, Early has the potential to be an organizational starter. He is “durable and has solid pitch-ability, but the present stuff other than his changeup is fringy,” wrote SoxProspects.
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