The Red Sox are promoting pitching prospect Bradley Blalock from Low-A Salem to High-A Greenville, according to MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith.
Blalock, 22, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 43 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 17th among pitchers in the organization. The right-hander has posted a 1.50 ERA and 2.82 FIP with 22 strikeouts to just four walks in four starts (18 innings) for Salem this season. He has put up those numbers while holding opposing hitters to a .167 batting average against.
In his last time out against the Delmarva Shorebirds at Carilion Clinic Field this past Thursday, Blalock struck out six and walked only one over five frames of one-run ball. He induced 11 swings-and-misses and topped out at 99 mph with his fastball after reaching 97 mph with the offering in his previous three outings.
A native of Georgia, Blalock was originally selected by the Red Sox in the 32nd round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Grayson High School. The club swayed Blalock away from his commitment to Kennesaw State by signing him to an over-slot bonus of $250,000 that July.
Blalock debuted in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League but had his first full season in pro ball derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He then pitched to a 4.27 ERA in 23 starts for Salem in 2021 before undergoing Tommy John surgery last March.
During the lengthy 14-month rehab process, Blalock altered his pitch mix by drawing inspiration from Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman. In addition to a revitalized fastball that has flashed increased velocity post-surgery, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound righty now works with a split-change (Gausman’s pitch), an 84-86 mph gyro slider, and a curveball that features 11-to-5 break.
“It’s definitely cool to be back,” Blalock told Smith last week. “I was talking to somebody about this the other day. It definitely kind of reminded me of that COVID year in 2020. It was just like, ‘Hey, an extra year down and I can get better. I’ve got something to prove.’ I put my head down. Got in there every day with the training staff, in the weight room and the pitching coach in Fort Myers and definitely took advantage of all the resources I had down there.
“Some people go into it and they are like, ‘Oh, dang. This is gonna suck. I don’t know what to expect for the next year,’” he continued. “I feel like the first two days after I knew I was going to have surgery, it was definitely tough. But after that it was like, ‘OK, what’s next? I’m gonna put my head down and grind.’ I was definitely in the best possible spot I could be in to have this with the resources we have.”
Blalock, who does not turn 23 until December, is now set to join a starting rotation in Greenville that includes Wikelman Gonzalez, Angel Bastardo, Juan Daniel Encarnacion, and Dalton Rogers. He will help fill the void left behind by fellow righties Isaac Coffey and Hunter Dobbins, who were both promoted to Double-A Portland on Monday.
(Picture of Bradley Blalock: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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