Tag: navy

Red Sox pitching prospect Noah Song applies for waiver to resume baseball career after completing Naval flight training

Red Sox pitching prospect Noah Song has completed his flight training and has applied to the Secretary of the Navy for a waiver that would allow him to pursue his baseball career, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Song, who turns 25 later this month, was originally selected by the Sox in the fourth round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the United States Naval Academy. The right-hander was viewed as a top-100 talent at that time, but slipped in the draft due to his military status.

After signing with Boston for $406,000, Song made his professional debut for the short-season Lowell Spinners that summer and posted a miniscule 1.06 ERA with 19 strikeouts to five walks over seven starts spanning 17 innings of work. He also pitched out of the bullpen for Team USA in the 2019 WBSC Premier12 tournament.

When he initially graduated from the Naval Academy, Song had applied for a waiver that would allow him to serve in the reserve while still pitching professionally. After more than a year of waiting for a response, though, the California native elected to enroll in flight school in the summer of 2020.

Now that he has completed flight school and earned his wings, Song is once again looking to resume his baseball career while still serving in the reserves. It is unclear how much baseball-related activity the righty has been able to participate in over the last two-plus years, but the Red Sox do believe he has been throwing at the very least.

“Obviously, flight school is incredibly demanding. That has been his priority throughout. As someone who has always hoped to have a chance to return, I think he’s continued [baseball] activity,” senior vice president of baseball operations Ben Crockett told Speier. “We’ve tried to stay in touch with him on that and try to give him some guidance on programming that could fit the best, but obviously, the schedule is unpredictable. But yes, there has been some level of activity.”

Assuming his waiver is approved this time around, Song would likely report to extended spring training in Fort Myers in his return to the Red Sox organization before being assigned to a minor-league affiliate later in the year.

Given the fact that he has not pitched in a professional environment in over two years, it is difficult to say what the Sox will be getting in Song, who touched 99 mph with his fastball in 2019.

Despite the long layoff, though, the 24-year-old hurler began the 2022 season regarded by Baseball America, FanGraphs, and SoxProspects.com as one of the top-30 prospects in Boston’s farm system. His return to the organization would obviously be a welcomed one.

(Picture of Noah Song: Gene Wang/Getty Images)

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Red Sox Prospect Noah Song Receives Orders to Report to Flight School

Red Sox prospect Noah Song has received his marching orders and will report to flight school in Pensacola no later than June 26th, according to The Capital Gazette’s Bill Wagner.

Per Wagner, the order for Song to report to flight school was handed down by the Department of Defense, and it comes about eight months after the California native submitted a request to the DoD “seeking a transfer to the Navy Reserve so he could continue his professional baseball career during the 2020 season.”

However, after waiting quite a while for a response to that request, Song in April “submitted an updated request to pursue flight training after all.”

The 2019 fourth-round pick graduated from the Naval Academy last May and was allowed to play two months of minor-league baseball with the short-season Lowell Spinners over the summer.

Song was impressive in that stretch, as he emerged as the Red Sox’ sixth-ranked prospect by posting a 1.06 ERA and .167 batting average against over seven starts and 17 innings pitched for Lowell.

Despite the success he had to kick off his professional career, both with Lowell and Team USA in last fall’s Premier 12 tournament, Song will have to put his major-league aspirations on hold for the time being.

As Wagner puts it, “Training to be designated as a naval flight officer typically lasts approximately 18 months. It begins with aviation indoctrination at Naval Air Station Pensacola and continues with specialized training for whichever aircraft platform the service member is assigned.

“If Song’s training starts this summer, he would not be designated as a naval flight officer until sometime in 2022. However, he could receive his wings as an aviator after about a year of training.”

It does seem like the former is more likely than the latter in this case, though, so the next time we see Song, who turned 23 in May, with the Red Sox in some capacity will probably be sometime in 2022.

 

Red Sox Prospect Noah Song’s Waiver to Defer Active Duty Commitment Still Needs to Be Reviewed by Secretary of Navy, Secretary of Defense

Earlier Tuesday, it was reported that Red Sox prospect Noah Song’s petition to defer his active service time was denied by the Naval Academy and the Chief of Naval Operations. That much may be true, but it does not necessarily mean that Song will have to wait two years to pursue a career in professional baseball.

That much is the case because according to Red Sox vice president of player development Ben Crockett, Song’s waiver must still be reviewed by the Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of Defense.

“Until we hear something definitive from them,” Crockett said in an email to MassLive.com Tuesday. “Both the Red Sox and Noah will remain hopeful that he gets a chance to play for the Red Sox AND serve.”

This comes in the wake of a November 8th order from the Department of Defense that will allow service academy graduates to pursue a career in professional sports beginning next year.

But, because Song graduated from the Naval Academy this past May, those rules do not apply to him.

The California native is expected to report to flight school in Pensacola, Fla. come late January, where he would train for two years.

With more steps needed to be taken before all is said and done though, the door for Song to resume his baseball career in 2020, compared to 2022, appears to still be open for now.

The Red Sox selected the 22-year-old right-hander in the fourth-round of this year’s amateur draft and assigned him to Low-A Lowell, where he posted a 1.06 ERA and .167 batting average against over seven starts and 17 innings pitched over the summer.

He also represented Team USA in the Premier 12 tournament in the fall, where he put together five scoreless appearances out of the bullpen.

Per MLB.com, Song is ranked as the Sox’ No. 15 prospect headed into the end of the year.

Red Sox Prospect Noah Song Shines Again for Team USA in Premier12 Tournament

Red Sox prospect Noah Song is one of four prospects representing the Red Sox in this year’s WBSC Premier12 tournament for Team USA.

Following a tight 3-2 win over Team Chinese Taipei in Tokyo on Friday night, Team USA is now in the position to play in the tournament’s bronze medal game on Sunday with a trip back to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic Games at stake. Song played a pivotal role to get Team USA to where they are now.

The 22-year-old right-hander entered Friday’s contest in the top of the eighth inning with a brand new one-run lead to protect, and needed all of 13 pitches (nine strikes) to fan two and retire the side in order.

Through four relief appearances in this tourney, Song, who is a starting pitcher, has yet to surrender a run while holding opposing hitters to a .083 batting average against over four quality innings of work.

Along with those impressive numbers, Song has reached 98 and 99 MPH with his four-seam fastball in each of his last two outings.

The Red Sox selected Song with the 137th overall pick in amateur draft back in June. Despite being ranked 68th on MLB.com’s Top 200 draft prospects, there was plenty of risk in taking Song, as he had recently graduated from the Naval Academy.

Fast forward five months later, and Song’s future plans include heading to flight school in Pensacola, Fla. in December to begin training to become a Naval Flight Officer.

As a Naval Academy graduate, Song is required to serve two years active duty in the military, and is currently awaiting a decision from the Department of Defense on whether he will be able to defer that commitment or not.

Ranked as Boston’s No. 15 prospect, the California native posted a 1.06 ERA and .167 batting average against over seven starts and 17 innings pitched this past season with the Low-A Lowell Spinners.