Red Sox minor league pitcher Robert Kwiatkowski earns win in WooSox debut
Kwiatkowski tossed 2 2/3 scoreless frames in Triple-A debut
The WooSox are coming off an unsuccessful road trip out in Toledo, Ohio, where they went 2-4. During the trip, Worcester welcomed a few new players to their roster, including right-handed pitcher Robert Kwiatkowski.
After spending the last few seasons in the lower levels of the Red Sox system, Kwiatkowski saw 13 games with Double-A Portland split between the last two seasons, posting a 3.20 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings.
His short stint with the Sea Dogs catapulted him to Worcester, which is in need of bullpen help after some of the recent call-ups to the big leagues.
Kwiatkowski quickly got into the action for Worcester on Sunday, tossing 2 2/3 without allowing any runs with one hit and three strikeouts.
The 26-year-old came into the game in the middle of the third inning, relieving Justin Hagenman, who made his first start in the Red Sox organization. With one runner on, Kwiatkowski got Mud Hens’ Justice Bigbie to hit a ground ball force out directly at Vaughn Grissom and then struck out Bligh Madris to end the inning.
After walking the leadoff hitter to open the fourth frame, he quickly set down the next three hitters. The righty gave up a double in the fifth to top prospect Jace Jung, but worked around that to retire the side.
Kwiatkowski throws from an over-the-top arm slot with a four-pitch mix. He offers a 92-94 mph that has topped out at 95 mph. In addition, he offers an 83-85 mph slider, an 86-88 mph changeup, and a 74-76 curveball, according to his SoxProspects scouting report.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, Kwiatkowski will turn 27 in June and came to the Red Sox as an undrafted free agent in June 2020 out of Marshall. The right-handed hurler will offer depth in the WooSox bullpen, which recently saw Joe Jacques get designated for assignment and end up with Arizona. Naoyuki Uwasawa (acquired from the Rays), Zack Kelly, Brennan Bernardino, and Cam Booser are all with the Red Sox after either starting the season in Worcester.
The WooSox bullpen is in a transition early on this year. Kwiatkowsi will join fellow Sea Dog Cody Scroggins, Chase Shugart, Lucas Luetge, Brendan Cellucci, Jorge Benitez, Melvin Adon, and Luis Guerrero in the current bullpen.
