Red Sox promote pitching prospect Juan Daniel Encarnacion, hit hard in his Sea Dogs debut
The Red Sox promoted pitching prospect Juan Daniel Encarnacion from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland on Thursday.
Encarnacion made his team debut for the Sea Dogs on Friday night, making a start for the depleted Portland rotation. The 23-year-old righty was hit hard in his Double-A debut, surrendering seven earned runs on five hits, four walks, and one strikeout over just 2 1/3 innings. He threw 58 pitches, and only 29 of them were thrown for strikes.
The Sea Dogs have been thin in their rotation, losing right-handers Angel Bastardo, Luis Perales, and CJ Liu to the 7-day injured list for various reasons.
While with the Drive this season, Encarnacion posted a 4.50 ERA and 3.54 FIP with 52 strikeouts to 13 walks over 40 innings pitched. Opposing hitters batted .250 against him.
Encarnacion was named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 6–12 earlier this season. The righty tossed a gem on short notice following an injury to David Sandlin. During that spot start, he yielded zero hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with six strikeouts over five scoreless innings of work.
The 6-foot-2 and 173-pound hurler throws from a three-quarters arm slot and offers a three-pitch mix that consists of a 92-94 mph fastball that tops out at 96 mph, an 85-87 mph slider, and an 89-91 mph changeup, per his SoxProspects scouting report.
Encarnacion will remain with the Sea Dogs while their rotation remains thin. It’s not known when he’ll start again, but the Sea Dogs could look to reshuffle their rotation heading into next week.
