Red Sox revealed a true depth chart battle among starting pitching prospects on Sunday
There was a lot to like about the pitching early in the Red Sox game on Sunday against the Rays. We got to see four of the projected five starters in Worcester in Spring action for the first time. Each of the pitchers had excellent debuts to begin the Spring, which sparks the conversation…
Who would be the first man up?
Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski should have the 1A and 1B slots taken on the current next man up on the starting pitching depth chart. They claim the top two spots due to the experience alone. Both guys got some valuable MLB experience last season when called upon. I think Crawford holds the edge over Winckowski, solely because of his age. Crawford is going to be 27 once the new season begins, and the Red Sox need to know what they have in him before moving on.
We got to see Winckowski for the first time on Sunday, in which he showed an improved slider and made quick work of a weaker Rays lineup.
After the top two, that leaves some of the top pitching prospects in the entire Red Sox system in Bryan Mata, Chris Murphy, and Brandon Walter.
Mata is the highest rated pitching prospect in the system, and it’s easy to see why the team is so high on him.
It’s not really going to be a question of IF we will be seeing Mata in the majors this season, it’s going to be WHEN. Mata will be the first of the top prospects called upon, unless an injury happens to a lefty in the bullpen. Look for Mata to get a potential call for a bullpen role, similar to what we saw with Houck, Whitlock, Winckowski, and a few other guys to get some time in the MLB.
Murphy is the most intriguing arm of the bunch. He looked like a new pitcher after struggling a bit in AAA last year. His ERA was up and his K/9 was down, some of the worst showings of his career. His stuff was on yesterday against the Rays and I’d look for him to be the first lefty recalled from Worcester.
Walter only made 11 starts total between Portland and Worcester last season. After dealing with a bulging disk in his back, Walter will be looking to build back up this season and be an option later in 2023. With being already added to the 40-man roster, Walter should be fighting for a late season call-up, depending how his bounce back campaign looks for Worcester.
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