Red Sox pitching prospect Max Carlson has been named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week of July 20-26, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.
Carlson made two scoreless relief appearances in Double-A Portland’s road series against Binghamton last week. The 24-year-old right-hander worked 5 2/3 hitless innings altogether, issuing just one walk and striking out seven. He recorded his first save of the season with three perfect frames out of the bullpen on Friday.
Dating back to June 7, Carlson has posted a 2.52 ERA with 28 strikeouts to only four walks over his last 25 innings pitched. Overall, the righty owns a 5.03 ERA with 65 strikeouts to 13 walks across 26 appearances (one start) and 59 innings for Portland this season. Opposing Eastern League hitters are slashing .268/.311/.425 against him.
Among 46 Eastern League pitchers who have thrown at least 55 innings this year, Carlson ranks fourth in swinging-strike rate (15.9%) and walks per nine (1.98), fifth in walk rate (5.3%), seventh in FIP (3.86), ninth in WHIP (1.25) and xFIP (3.79), 16th in strikeout rate (26.5%), and 17th in strikeouts per nine (9.92), according to FanGraphs.
Carlson is in his third full professional season and first at the Double-A level. The Minnesota native was originally selected by the Red Sox in the 12th round (358th overall) of the 2023 draft out of the University of North Carolina. He reached High-A Greenville early on in 2024, but was limited to just 11 outings (35 1/3 innings) there last year due to a right shoulder impingement that required a season-ending trip to the 60-day injured list.
Now healthy, Carlson has proven to be a reliable option out of Portland’s bullpen this season. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound hurler does not overwhelm hitters with pure velocity, topping out at 94 mph with a low-90s fastball while mixing in a changeup, slider, and sweeper. Though he is not ranked among Boston’s top pitching prospects by outlets such as SoxProspects.com, he commands the strike zone effectively, allowing his stuff to play up.
Carlson, who turns 25 in September, is the fifth different Portland pitcher to earn Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors this season, joining John Holobetz, Patrick Halligan, Anthony Eyanson, and Blake Wehunt. Given that he can become Rule 5-eligible for the first time this winter, it would not be surprising to see Carlson leverage his recent performance into a promotion to Triple-A Worcester before long.
(Picture of Max Carlson: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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