Red Sox pitching prospect Jojo Ingrassia living out his 'dream' playing professional baseball
Red Sox left-handed pitching prospect Jojo Ingrassia has been gaining attention from talent evaluators and fans with his impressive start to the 2024 season.
The 21-year-old southpaw who was drafted in the 14th round of 2023 out of Cal State Fullerton is 2-1 with a 2.56 ERA and has struck out 52 batters while walking 12 and holding opponents to a .209 batting average in 13 games (four starts).
“It's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to play professional baseball,” Ingrassia said on the Pesky Report Podcast. “You know, going out there playing baseball just feels like, I don't know what to compare it to because it just feels normal.
“I’ve been playing baseball my whole life. And I mean, being in the Red Sox organization, you can't beat it. It's one of the most prestigious organizations in baseball, let alone sports.”
Ingrassia has transitioned from the bullpen to the rotation for the Low-A Salem Red Sox. Over this first 10 2/3 innings of work, walks have snakebitten him, allowing 10 free passes over that span. He’s also struck out 10 batters during those starts.
While in college, Ingrassia spent time as a closer. This year, in spring training, the Red Sox didn’t necessarily tell him he was going to start or be in the bullpen; they wanted to give him innings and prepare for both opportunities.
“It kind of started in spring training where I was throwing a little bit more than I had, especially last year as a closer, but there was no real, you're going to be a starter, you're a reliever kind of situation,” said Ingrassia. “They came up to me; you're going to start piggybacking (Jedixson) Paez, and you're going to go three innings now; we're going to build you out. So it hasn't really been any direct, like you're a starter, you're a reliever, just flipping me into roles and seeing how I perform in them.”
Ingrassia enjoys his opportunity as a starter in the Red Sox organization, describing it as a whole different mindset in the rotation.
“It's a whole different adrenaline dump,” said Ingrassia. ”You have to learn to control it through four innings instead of one to two innings and coming out there and just blowing it out. Cause you know, you only have two, and you can just go be as dirty as possible.”
The athletic lefty throws from a three-quarters arm a lot and offers three pitches. His fastball ranges between 90 and 92 mph while mixing in his slider, which is used primarily against left-handed hitters, and an 82 and 85 mph changeup. The 21-year-old is off to a quick start in the Salem Red Sox bullpen. After another month or two of consistent outings on the mound, he could find himself in the Greenville Drive bullpen.
