Richard Fitts talks about his mindset and what he's working on while with the WooSox: 'Trying to get one step closer to getting the call'
Red Sox top pitching prospect Richard Fitts will make his fifth start with the WooSox this week as the team returns home to Polar Park. In his last start on the road against Toledo, Fitts was tagged with his first loss of the season.
He now returns home to the confines of Polar Park, where he's pitched very well, only giving up one earned run in 10 1/3 innings.
Through his first four outings, Fitts has posted a 1-0 record with a 4.19 ERA, issuing five walks and striking out 17 batters over 19 1/3 innings of work. In his last outing, he only lasted four innings, his shortest all season, and surrendered five runs in the process.
Overall, the 24-year-old righty is settling in just fine with the WooSox. The Alabama native isn’t taking anything for granted and is working to improve each week.
With a few weeks under his belt, how has his mindset changed when pitching at the Triple-A level?
“I mean, ultimately, I’ve got a lot of things I need to get better at before I feel really confident that I can go out and help the Red Sox win a World Series,” said Fitts.
“We’re all on the same page with that, and I think the Red Sox are doing a great job of letting me know where I’m at and what I need to work on. Every day, I’m coming here and working on those things and trying to get one step closer to getting the call,” added the Auburn alum.
What is Fitts working on?
WooSox skipper Chad Tracy has mentioned a few times in pregame media scrums that a big part of Fitts’ development is working on developing his slider, pounding the zone with strikes, and working deeper into games.
“Big, tall, strong dude. Really good changeup. The velocity is there, typically command is good,” Tracy said of Fitts. “He’s in the zone, working on a slider, trying to improve that slider as his secondary, but he’s got a couple offerings already that are plus plus, and he usually lives in the strike zone.
“So with the frame of him and the things he’s working on, we got a good one so I’m looking forward to watch him throw.”
A big part of Fitts’ overall development will come from working with both WooSox pitching coach Dan DeLucia and bullpen coach Noah Junis.
“They’re awesome,” said Fitts about working with his two coaches. “They know everybody here so well and individually and communicate what we need to work on. I know I can go to them with anything stupid that I need to do.”
One of the things Fitts likes is how receptive his coaches are to listening and answering questions. He credits DeLucia and Junis with keeping him focused while everyone is aligned on the goals he wants to achieve.
Following Fitts first Triple-A outing, the righty wasn’t overly happy with his outing. It wasn’t bad by any stretch; he tossed 4 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and one run with two walks and three strikeouts. There was plenty to build off his first outing at the Triple-A level.
His pitching coach felt the same way and emphasized that improvements can be made, but the team needs a larger sample size of outings while also seeing how the slider is playing in each appearance.
“He’s typically a guy that pounds the zone early and often,” said DeLucia to Beyond the Monster. “There are some improvements that can be made; I don’t want to single out one outing. We need to look at outings over a longer period of time. Overall, we’re going to continue to develop a slider.”
During Fitts last start on April 24 against the Toledo Mud Hens, he threw the pitch 33 times, or 38% of the time. He induced 15 swings and five whiffs while maxing it out at 85.3 mph. Of the nine hard-hit balls in his outing, only four came off the slider, three of which were recorded as fly ball outs. The emphasis continues to make that pitch a mainstay with his aresnal.
The most important thing for Fitts as he continues to get better in the minors is throwing strikes, and he is fully aware of that and how much the team pounded that philosophy into the pitchers heads all through spring training.
“The biggest thing is pounding the strike zone. I’m really good when I can get ahead of hitters and kind of do what I want too. These hitters are good enough that if I get behind, they’ll do damage to whatever I throw over the plate,” Fitts said.
