Worcester’s projected starting rotation is full of talent
Kutter Crawford. Josh Winckowski. Bryan Mata. Brandon Walter. Chris Murphy.
All five of the guys listed above are currently on the 40-man-roster and might be on the outside looking in on making the MLB pitching staff. All five guys are also either highly ranked prospects or were at one point. One could argue that the top three could crack an MLB roster on a few teams around the league.
Winckowski and Crawford both saw time in the majors last year. Crawford started in 12 games and Winckowski started in 15 games. While the stat sheets weren’t as friendly to either of them during their time in Boston, we might not have seen the full story behind either of them. Winckowski appeared on the SoxSpects podcast after the season and discussed the challenges that a few of the guys who spent times between AAA and the MLB roster had to go through.
Challenges aside in Boston last season, will be a great 1-2 punch to start the year in Worcester. Both will have a chance to get in a groove to start the year with plenty of long starts. For the other three projected starters in the rotation, AAA experience will be something they all are attempting to gain.
Bryan Mata is the sixth ranked prospect in the Red Sox system, according to SoxProspects. He is now the highest rated pitching prospect after Brayan Bello graduated from prospect status last year. After getting the promotion to Worcester last season, he made five starts after dominating in Portland during the summer. Mata will fit in nicely behind Crawford and Winckowski in the rotation to start the year.
Brandon Walter comes in as the eighth ranked prospect in the Red Sox system entering 2023. He is the second highest ranked pitching prospect in the Red Sox system, behind Mata. Entering this season, he only has two starts at AAA under his belt and would benefit from a full season in Worcester. He missed a ton of bats in Portland before his late season promotion to AAA.
Chris Murphy is a bit more of an interesting case. He enters the season as the 13th best prospect in the system. He made 15 starts for Worcester in 2022, which he holds the experience aspect over Mata and Walter. Even while holding that experience over the two, he seems to have fallen behind them on the starting depth chart. He struggled a bit in his starts in AAA and needs to cut back on the walks this year. He is the fourth highest ranked pitching prospect in the system and the talent is there for a potential call-up.
It’s not out of the realm that we see all five of these guys at some point this year. Last season, we saw four starters go down for the Red Sox around the same time that required call-ups from AAA. Winckowski or Crawford should be the first two names called if needed, with the other three competing to be the next man up if needed.
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