New Red Sox pitching prospect debuts on SoxProspects rankings
On Saturday afternoon, the Red Sox took steps in adding a young high-end starting pitching prospect into the system. Boston traded reliever John Schreiber to the Royals for right-handed pitching prospect David Sandlin.
With Sandlin entering the organization, he will likely start at High-A Greenville to begin the season. While fans are excited to watch him pitch and develop under Craig Breslow, Andrew Bailey and Justin Willard, fans have also been waiting to see where he will rank amongst the other prospects within the system.
SoxProspects.com updated their top-60 prospect rankings on Monday night and have ranked Sandlin as the No. 13 overall prospect within their rankings.
“The initial ranking for RHP David Sandlin is very fluid,” posted Ian Cundall, SoxProspects director of scouting. “We need to see how he bounces back from the injury that ended his 2023 season and if the improved stuff he’s shown in workouts this winter carries over to the season. If it does, he could move up the list very quickly.”
SoxProspects lists Sandlin as a “high-variance prospect with start upside.” Boston has struggled to develop pitching prospects that offer high-upside.
The Oklahoma product offers a three-quarters arm slot, he starts on the third base side of the rubber and offers a four-pitch mix. His fastball tops out at 98 mph, it ranges from 93-96 mph. Sandlin also features a 85-88 mph slider, 86-90 mph splitter and a 77-81 mph curveball, according to SoxProsepcts.
Breslow likes Sandlin’s makeup and thinks he will be someone that’ll become a starter in the big leagues in the future.
“We had identified (him) early on as someone that we think is on the rise and has the makings of a legitimate starting pitcher,” Breslow said.
“Loved the stuff, loved the makeup and we’ve seen the stuff take a pretty significant step forward. Anytime you make these trades, you have to recognize that we’re trading a really talented pitcher over there and that was difficult. Certainly wasn’t an easy decision. But like I said, I feel like my job is to do what is best for the organization. And I think this is a chance to do that,” added Breslow.
Sandlin enters camp healthy following a lat injury last season. Breslow said that his new prospect is ready for camp and to compete.