The Red Sox have added pitching prospect Nicholas Judice to Low-A Salem’s roster from the Florida Complex League, per the club’s MiLB.com transactions log.
Judice, 23, was acquired from the Yankees as part of last December’s Alex Verdugo trade. The right-hander was originally selected by New York in the eighth round of the 2023 amateur draft out of Louisiana-Monroe but did not pitch for a minor-league affiliate after signing with the club for $185,500.
Judice instead made his professional debut with the FCL Red Sox late last month. The Lousiana native allowed two earned runs on three hits, two walks and four strikeouts over two outings (one start) spanning four innings of work for Boston’s rookie-level affiliate before receiving a promotion to Salem on Thursday.
Listed at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, Judice throws from a three-quarters arm slot and incorporates a high leg kick into his delivery. As highlighted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, the projectable righty operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 92-95 mph two-seam fastball that can reach 96 mph, a sweeping mid-80s slider, and an occasional low-80s changeup.
Judice’s slider was tabbed by Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo as the best secondary pitch in the Yankees’ 2023 draft class. His changeup is one that shows fade and plays like “more of a gyro change” or fastball, as he explained to Smith in Fort Myers back in March.
Judice, who just turned 23 in April, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 55 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 28th among pitchers in the organization. He becomes the second young hurler to make the jump from the FCL to Salem this week, joining fellow righty Ovis Portes.
(Picture of Nicholas Judice: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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