Red Sox add two minor league pitching prospects to 40-man roster, one notable name left off
The Red Sox selected their top two pitching prospects, Wikelman Gonzalez and Luis Perales, onto the 40-man roster on Tuesday. This protects them from being eligible to be available in December’s Rule 5 Draft.
Boston’s 40-man roster is now at 39 players following the moves today. The Red Sox left off No. 3 pitching prospect in the system, Shane Drohan, in a surprise move. The 24-year-old left-hander is now available to all teams in the Rule 5 Draft.
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Gonzalez is ranked as the No. 2 prospect behind Perales. He finished the season with Double-A Portland, where he’ll likely begin the season. There is a strong possibility the 21-year-old could rise quickly to Triple-A similar to Drohan last season.
Gonzalez will turn 22 in March, posted a 3.96 ERA in 25 starts between High A and Double A last year. The righty was second amongst Boston’s minor leaguers in strikeout percentage at 35.2% with 168 punch outs.
Perales is ranked as Baseball America’s No. 1 pitching prospect in the system. The righty made eight starts last season for Low-A Salem. Overall he made 21 starts, posting a 3.91 ERA over 89 2/3 innings pitched. Perales stuck out 115 batters, went 4-7 with a 1.42 WHIP.
The right-handed hurler offers a four-pitch mix, a fastball that sits between 94-96 mph and has topped out 99 mph. Cutter (88-91 mph), slider (81-85 mph) and changeup (85-87 mph). He projects as a possible back-end starter or a bulk innings pitcher, according to SoxProspects.
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Drohan’s exclusion on the 40-man roster comes as a surprise following his fast rise through the Sox’ system. The 24-year-old dazzled for the Sea Dogs this season posting a 1.32 ERA with 36 strikeouts, nine walks over his first six starts. Boston named Drohan the organization’s starting pitcher of the month for April.
His performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A Worcester where he did not see the same success as he had with Double-A Portland. Drohan made 19 starts (21 games) going 5-7 with a 6.47 ERA with a 1.87 WHIP over 89 innings.
A calf injury caused the southpaw to miss some time during the summer. The injury caused him to miss the MLB Futures Game in Seattle.
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Fatigue seemed to be an issue at times during Drohan’s starts this season. The lefty still possessed strong command of his fastball while working on attacking the strike zone, which is something WooSox skipper preached all season long not only to Drohan but to all of his young hurlers.
Drohan sits between 92-94 mph and tops out at 96 mph with his fastball. In addition to his heater, the lefty offers a cutter, changeup and curveball.
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Is there still time to add him to the major league roster if they want to do that, since they have only 39 on there now?