What the Red Sox lost in Noah Song to the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft
The Philadelphia Phillies made a surprise selection in the Rule 5 draft taking Red Sox right-hander Noah Song.
The former fourth-round selection back in 2019 was one of the best arms in the Sox system. However, Song hasn’t pitched professionally the last three years due to his Navy commitments.
Song applied for a waiver to pursue baseball last spring but that has not yet been granted.
The Red Sox left Song unprotected, which you can’t fault the club for doing. Song hasn’t pitched above Single-A prior to leaving for the Navy.
With the 25-year-old currently on the restricted list, the Phillies can take a chance and draft him without exposing him to their 26-man roster, at the moment.
Once Song’s military waiver is accepted, he will need to be added to the Phillies roster. He will need to be on their roster for least 90 days and be kept there or he’ll need to be returned to Boston.
Phillies general manager Dave Dombrowski originally drafted Song when he was here in Boston. Dombrowski is not afraid to make risky moves and while this move has risk, it’s very low.
In his only professional season, Song pitched with Lowell back in 2019. Song was dominant in seven starts pithing 17 innings, he struck out 19 batters and had a 1.07 ERA. The tall, athletic Song has the potential to develop into a third or fourth starter. However, not pitching in three years will impact his ceiling once he return to baseball.
Song offers a mix of four pitches, his fastball has topped out at 99 mph in the past. His fastball has life and can jump on hitters quickly. In his small sampling size with Lowell, Song has shown his fastball has the ability to miss bats.
To go along with his fastball, Song offers a slider, changeup and curveball. Both his changeup and slider have the ability to be an above-average pitch at the next level. His curveball has been a work in progress and it remains to be seen missing three years of baseball if he’ll continue to develop it.
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