Red Sox catching prospect Andruw Musett came through with an extra-innings walk-off single as part of his Low-A Salem debut in Tuesday’s series-opening win over the Delmarva Shorebirds.
With two outs and Antonio Anderson representing the winning run at third base in the bottom of the 10th, Musett worked a 2-1 count against Shorebirds reliever Eddy Alberto before ripping a groundball single back up the middle to drive in Anderson and lift the Red Sox to their 55th win of the season.
In addition to going 2-for-5 with a clutch RBI in his first game at Carilion Clinic Field, Musett also threw out two of four would-be base stealers from behind the plate. The 18-year-old backstop was added to Salem’s roster on Tuesday morning after spending the last three months in the Florida Complex League.
With the rookie-level FCL Red Sox this season, the right-handed hitting Musett batted .255/.395/.358 with eight doubles, two home runs, 20 RBIs, 25 runs scored, one stolen base, 30 walks, and 23 strikeouts over 46 games (137 plate appearances). Among 71 qualified FCL hitters, he ranked ninth in strikeout rate (13.4 percent), 12th in walk rate (17.4 percent) and swinging-strike rate (9.6 percent), 22nd in on-base percentage, 30th in wRC+ (116), and 33rd in OPS (.753), per FanGraphs.
Defensively, Musett unsurprisingly saw most of his playing time in the FCL come at catcher. The 5-foot-10, 198-pounder made 29 starts behind the plate, allowing two passed balls and gunning down 19 of 42 base stealers. He also started 16 games at first base and eight at DH.
Musett, who turns 19 in November, originally signed with the Red Sox for $90,000 as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in January 2023. The Barquisimeto native made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League last June and slashed .289/.433/.414 over 44 games. He is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 55 prospect in Boston’s farm system.
FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, meanwhile, tabbed Musett as the Red Sox’ 42nd-ranked prospect in his review of the system last month. Longenhagen described Musett as “rhythmic and loose in the batter’s box, and shockingly fluid and flexible for a hitter his size.” He added that Musett “needs to develop a lot as a defender in order to stick behind the dish.”
(Picture of Andruw Musett: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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