The Red Sox promoted pitching prospect Juan Daniel Encarnacion from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland on Thursday, per the club’s MiLB.com transactions log.
Encarnacion got the start for Portland against the Reading Fightin Phils at FirstEnergy Stadium on Friday night. The 23-year-old right-hander did not fare well in his Double-A debut, as he surrendered seven earned runs on five hits, four walks, and one strikeout over just 2 1/3 innings of work. Only 29 of the 58 pitches he threw went for strikes.
The decision to elevate Encarnacion from Greenville comes at a time when Portland finds itself short on starting pitching depth. Within recent days, the Sea Dogs have placed fellow righties Angel Bastardo, Luis Perales, and CJ Liu on the 7-day injured list for varying reasons.
Encarnacion spent parts of three seasons (2022-2024) with Greenville and was evidently ready for a new challenge at a more advanced level. In nine starts for the Drive this year, the righty posted a 4.50 ERA and 3.54 FIP with 52 strikeouts to 13 walks over 40 innings pitched. Opposing hitters batted .250 against him.
Though some of those numbers may not necessarily jump off the page, Encarnacion did show signs of improvements in other areas — such as his command and control — while with Greenville this season compared to last. To expand further on that, he cut his walk rate from 9.2 percent to 7.5 percent and raised his strikeout rate from 22.1 percent to 29.9 percent.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Encarnacion originally signed with the Red Sox for $40,000 as an international free agent coming out of San Pedro de Macoris in September 2018. He is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 59 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 31st among pitchers in the organization.
Standing at 6-foot-2 and 173 pounds, Encarnacion throws from a three-quarters arm slot and incorporates a medium-high leg kick into his delivery. As noted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report, the lanky hurler primarily operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 92-94 mph fastball that tops out at 96 mph, an 85-87 mph slider, and an 89-91 mph changeup.
Encarnacion, who just turned 23 in March, is the 13th different pitcher to start a game for the Sea Dogs this season. Friday’s outing aside, it should be interesting to see how he fares in the upper minors moving forward.
(Picture of Juan Daniel Encarnacion: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
Blogging the Red Sox 