Red Sox MiLB Notebook: Nicholas Judice makes debut, Mark Contreras with a big night, Miguel Bleis remains hot
Red Sox pitching prospect Nicholas Judice made his organizational debut on Tuesday, pitching for the FCL Red Sox.
Judice tossed the first two innings and allowed just one run on one hit, a solo blast. He struck out two with no walks in his outing.
Boston acquired Judice from the Yankees in December in the Alex Verdugo trade. New York had selected the tall righty in the eighth-round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
The Louisiana native is starting with the FCL Red Sox and should be assigned to Low-A Salem in the coming weeks.
The 6-foot-8, 230-pounder throws from a three-quarters arm slot and relies mostly on two pitches: a low-90s fastball that has reportedly touched triple digits and a whiff-inducing, mid-80s slider, according to Baseball America. He also offers a changeup, which is rarely used.
It will be interesting to see if he adds any additional pitches to his arsenal while in rookie ball before trying it out in Low-A. Given Judice’s size, he should add more velocity to his pitches. With Boston’s focus on throwing fewer fastballs, Judice can use his secondary offerings while mixing in his heater as he grows into a pitcher in the organization.
Mark Contreras with a big night at the plate
WooSox outfielder Mark Contreras had a big night at the dish on Tuesday.
Contreras went 3-for-4 and hit his third homer of the year with two runs scored. His solo shot went to deep left-center and gave the WooSox the lead at that point in the second inning.
Nick Sogard carries an on-base streak into Wednesday
Utility infielder Nick Sogard has now reached base safely in 15 games after he was hit by a pitch.
Sogard has been putting together a respectable season at the plate, batting .264 with seven homers, 24 RBI, and a .818 OPS. He has hit six of his seven homers in the month of May, including a multi-home run game on May 16.
A.J. Politi returns from the WooSox IL
Reliever A.J. Politi was activated off the WooSox 7-day IL after dealing with a right arm issue the last month.
The right-hander came in relief for Naoyuki Uwasawa and immediately gave up a homer to White Sox top shortstop prospect Colton Montgomery on the first pitch he threw, but settled in after that.
Miguel Bleis with another strong night at the plate
Miguel Bleis has hit in 12 straight games following his 2-for-4 performance on Tuesday night.
In the month of May, Bleis is hitting .318 with four homers, nine RBI, and a .506 slugging percentage.
