SoxSpects Portal: Boston has minor league pitching depth
SoxSpects Portal: Boston has minor league pitching depth
Red Sox pitching prospects may be relied on
When you take a look at the Red Sox top 30 prospects according to MLB.com they have 12 pitchers ranked inside that list. Although Boston has arms in their top 30, three have produced great numbers early in the season.
Their top pitching prospect, Brayan Bello, is the Sox number four overall prospect in their system and he has done exceptional things at the Double-A level for Portland this season.
Bello threw a no-hitter for the Sea Dogs on May 5 that was on the nightcap of the doubleheader against the Reading Fightin’ Phils. During that game, Bello threw 96 pitches, 56 were for strikes. He managed to strike out five and allowed an unearned run in the victory.
Beyond the Monster highlighted his season efforts earlier this season.
With the new signing of Carlos Martínez, he will likely get the push to the big-leagues before any other pitching prospect in the farm system just because of his prior experience at the MLB level. However, Martínez did make his debut for Triple-A Worcester on May 8 and it was a game that needs to be forgotten. The former two-time N.L. All-Star only worked two thirds of an inning and allowed five runs on four hits and two walks and exited the game with a 67.50 ERA.
Update on Bryan Mata:
Bryan Mata, the Sox number seven prospect, second pitching prospect, is coming off an UCL injury that had left him sidelined for a significant amount of time. At first, he was going to elect against surgery, but later underwent season ending Tommy John surgery that shut his 2021 season. Mata did however video himself throwing and did look while doing it.
The timetable of Mata’s return is still to-be-determined at this current moment, but he slated to start at Triple-A. Usually though, when a player is coming off an injury as serious as his, the club will work the player back into top-tier form. Mata may get back on his feet in Salem for a game or two when he is ready [and the club thinks he is ready] and then work his way back up the system.
Boston’s third ranked pitching prospect and the clubs eighth ranked prospect, Brandon Walter’s is having a season to remember in Double-A. He, like Bello, is making a strong case for himself to get promoted in the near future. In game one of the doubleheader on May 5, Walter pitched six innings of shut out ball and only allowed three hits while striking out 10 as he earned his first win of the season. He threw 78 pitches, 53 for strike, which was a strike percentage of 67.9. He also lowered his ERA to 0.93.
On the season he now has 42 strikeouts with only two walks allowed and holds a 2.97 ERA in 30.1 innings of work. During his last outing on May 10, he lasted less than two innings allowing seven earned runs before getting pulled. He was also tagged with the loss.
Ranking as the Red Sox number 11 overall prospect and the clubs six over all pitching prospect is Jay Groome. He had a career-night for Portland when he struck out 10 against Somerset on April 30. During that game he worked 5.2 innings allowing only one earned run over four hits. He has worked 18.2 this season for the Sea Dogs and has 21 strikeouts and nine walks to show for his efforts. The lefty has an ETA for 2022, but it may get pushed back to early 2023 depending on how the other arms in the system look down the road.
The truth of the matter is this — Boston has arms to promote, use as trade value to get a bigger return. What Boston will do is unknown at this time but, with the Cincinnati Reds making starters Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle available in trade talks, the Red Sox may sniff around to see what those two trade market values are as well. Either way, if the Red Sox, or any team went after Castillo or Mahle they would potentially give up strong pitching prospects in return.
Follow James on Twitter @micdupgravley
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