Tag: soxprospects

Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell powers High-A Greenville to South Atlantic League title

Versatile Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell put the finishing touches on a strong debut season by helping High-A Greenville take home the 2023 South Atlantic League championship.

After drawing a walk and driving in a run in a Game 1 road win over the Hudson Valley Renegades on Sunday, Campbell recorded three hits in Greenville’s series-clinching victory at Fluor Field on Tuesday night.

Batting seventh and starting in left field for the Drive, Campbell went 3-for-4 with a massive three-run home run. The right-handed hitter struck out in his first plate appearances, then proceeded to reach base in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings.

After registering a pair of singles for his first two hits of the night, Campbell came through in a big way in the bottom half of the seventh. Tyler Miller had just driven in Allan Castro to give Greenville a 4-2 lead and put runners at second and third with only one out.

Matched up against Hudson Valley reliever Matt Keating, Campbell worked a 2-1 count before clobbering a line-drive, three-run blast to deep left-center field. He then let out a celebratory yell as he rounded first base and pointed to the sky before crossing home plate to put Greenville up, 7-2, going into the eighth inning.

The Drive went on to defeat the Renegades by a final score of 7-3, claiming their first South Atlantic League title since 2017 and their second since becoming affiliated with the Red Sox in 2005.

Campbell played a major role for Greenville as it swept Hickory in the division series and Hudson Valley in the championship series en route to a perfect postseason. In four games against the Crawdads and Renegades, Campbell went 7-for-12 (.583) with one double, one home run, six RBIs, three runs scored, one walk, and three strikeouts. He also flashed the leather over the weekend by making an impressive diving catch in the left-center field gap.

“The lights were not too bright for him,” Drive manager Iggy Suarez said of Campbell when speaking with MiLB.com’s Allison Mast on Tuesday night. “First year in pro ball, first season, and he’s in the thick of things. The bigger the moment, he embraced it and he wanted it. It’s almost a veteran approach.”

Campbell, 21, was selected by the Red Sox with the 132nd overall pick in this summer’s draft, which Boston received as compensation for losing Xander Bogaerts to the Padres in free agency over the winter. The drat-eligible sophomore out of Georgia Tech signed for $492,700 and debuted in the rookie-level Florida Complex League last month.

A native of the Peach State himself, Campbell posted a 1.082 OPS (189 wRC+) in eight games for Boston’s Fort Myers-based affiliate before making the jump to Greenville (and skipping Low-A Salem) on August 24. He then batted .267/.400/.422 (132 wRC+) with two doubles, one triple, one homer, three runs driven in, five runs scored, one stolen base, seven walks, and 13 strikeouts in 14 regular season games (55 plate appearances) with the Drive.

Defensively, Campbell saw playing time at second base and both corner outfield spots at his two stops this year. With Greenville specifically, the 6-foot-3, 191-pounder logged 81 innings at second base, 17 innings in left field, and nine innings in right field. He did not commit a single error and recorded one outfield assist by throwing top Rangers prospect Wyatt Langford out at second base back on August 27.

Campbell, who does not turn 22 until next June, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 48 prospect in Boston’s farm system. He possesses an intriguing profile based on his athleticism and power potential and is projected by the website to return to Greenville for the start of the 2024 campaign in April.

(Picture of Kristian Campbell: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

Red Sox to promote relief prospect Luis Guerrero to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox are promoting relief prospect Luis Guerrero from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester, according to MiLB Central on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Guerrero, 23, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 31 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks ninth among pitchers in the organization. The hard-throwing right-hander was originally selected by the Red Sox in the 17th round of the 2021 amateur draft out of Chipola College (Marianna, Fla.) and signed with the club for $122,500.

In 43 appearances out of the bullpen for Portland this season, Guerrero has posted a 1.81 ERA and 3.37 FIP with 59 strikeouts to 30 walks over 49 2/3 innings of relief. He held opposing hitters to a .150 batting average against in the process of going 18-for-22 in save opportunities.

Among 131 Eastern League pitchers who came into play Tuesday with at least 40 innings under their belts to this point in the year, Guerrero ranks 33rd in strikeouts per nine innings (10.69), 32nd in strikeout rate (27.8 percent), third in batting average against, 16th in WHIP, first in swinging-strike rate (17.1 percent), second in ERA, and 19th in FIP, per FanGraphs.

While the strikeout numbers are undoubtedly impressive, Guerrero has had his issues when it comes to walks. Using the same parameters from above, he ranks 113rd in the Eastern League in walks per nine innings (5.44) and 117th in walk rate (14.2 percent). Dating back to the start of July, he has walked 12 of the last 87 batters he has faced.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Guerrero underwent surgery on his right knee as an infant and now walks with a limp as a result. He told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier earlier this spring that he now has limited mobility in his knee since the muscles in that area did not grow like the others.

“[But] for pitching, you just need to bend [the back knee] a little bit,” Guerrero explained. “My knee bends just as much as I need it to.”

As a child, Guerrero moved from the Dominican to Boston and grew up near Franklin Park. He then moved to Miami for his senior year of high school and spent two years at Chipola before being drafted by the Red Sox in 2021. Guerrero did not make his professional debut until last June and made his way to High-A Greenville before the 2022 season came to a close. He was expected to return to Greenville for the start of the 2023 campaign as well, but showed increased fastball velocity and wound up breaking camp with Portland.

Since then, Guerrero has only seen his stock rise. Alongside Sea Dogs teammates Nick Yorke and Marcelo Mayer, the righty represented the Red Sox at July’s All-Star Futures Game in Seattle. Replacing left-hander Shane Drohan in suiting up for the American League at T-Mobile Park, Guerrero struck out the lone batter he faced — Rockies prospect Yanquiel Fernandez — on five pitches.

Listed at 6-feet and 215 pounds, Guerrero operates with a 96-98 mph fastball that tops out at 100 mph, an 81-85 mph splitter, and an 87-90 mph slider that features 10-to-4 break, per his SoxProspects.com scouting report. In order to reach his potential, he will need to work on refining his control and command of the strike zone moving forward.

With the minor-league season winding down and the WooSox fighting for a playoff spot, Guerrero is slated to join a Worcester bullpen that already features Nick Robertson, Justin Hagenman, Andrew Politi, and Ryan Fernandez, among others.

(Picture of Luis Guerrero: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Red Sox catching prospect Johanfran Garcia named Florida Complex League Player of the Week

Red Sox catching prospect Johanfran Garcia has been named the Florida Complex League Player of the Week for the week of June 19-25, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

Garcia went 8-for-15 (.533) at the plate with three doubles, two home runs, five RBIs, five runs scored, three walks, and six strikeouts in four games for the FCL Red Sox last week. Both of those home runs came in a 10-4 win over the FCL Braves down in Fort Myers last Monday, marking the first multi-homer game of his professional career.

On the 2023 campaign as a whole, the right-handed hitting Garcia has batted .340/.444/.604 with four doubles, two triples, those two home runs, 12 runs driven in, 12 runs scored, one stolen base, seven walks, and 15 strikeouts across 13 games (63 plate appearances) with Boston’s rookie-level affiliate.

Defensively, Garcia has served as the FCL Red Sox’ primary catcher in front of the likes of Brooks Brannon, Diego Viloria, Rivaldo Avila, and Johnfrank Salazar. The 5-foot-10, 196-pound backstop has logged 56 innings behind the plate thus far and has thrown out three of six would-be base stealers. He gunned down a runner at third base in the ninth inning of Monday’s contest against the FCL Orioles (which was later suspended due to rain) at JetBlue Park.

Garcia, 18, originally signed with the Red Sox for $850,000 as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in January 2022. The Valencia native is the younger brother of minor-league outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia (who signed with the club three years prior) and is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 33 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Considering that he does not turn 19 until December, it feels safe to assume that Garcia will spend the rest of the summer in the FCL. As things stand now, he is viewed as a bat-first catcher who has the potential to stick behind the plate moving forward.

(Picture of Johanfran Garcia: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer earns South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors

Top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer has been named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of May 1-7, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

Mayer went 16-for-31 (.516) at the plate with six doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs, eight runs scored, one stolen base, zero walks, and four strikeouts in all six of High-A Greenville’s games on the road against the Asheville Tourists last week.

After going 2-for-5 with a pair of singles in Tuesday’s series opener at McCormick Field, Mayer finished a triple shy of the cycle as part of a four-hit effort on Wednesday. The left-handed hitting shortstop then had one hit on Thursday, two hits on Friday and three hits on Saturday before closing out the weekend with another four-hit performance on Sunday afternoon.

As noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, McCormick Field is considered to be one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in all of Minor League Baseball given its favorable dimensions. That being said, it was nonetheless an impressive week of work for Mayer.

Though his first full season in Greenville got off to a slow start, Mayer has picked things up as of late. He is now batting a stout .337/.414/.582 (161 wRC+) with 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 23 RBIs, 17 runs scored, four stolen bases, 13 walks, and 24 strikeouts over 23 games (111 plate appearances) with the Drive in 2023.

Among qualified South Atlantic League hitters, Mayer ranks eighth in batting average, 14th in on-base percentage, 10th in slugging percentage, ninth in OPS (.996), 17th in isolated power (.245), 23rd in strikeout rate (21.6 percent), and ninth in wRC+ (161), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Mayer has unsurprisingly seen all of his playing time on the field to this point in the season come at shortstop. The 6-foot-2, 188-pounder has logged 193 innings at short thus far and has committed six errors in 72 defensive chances.

Mayer, 20, is regarded by most publications as the No. 1 prospect in Boston’s farm system. As far as top-100 rankings are concerned, Baseball America has him at No. 13 while MLB Pipeline pegs him as the seventh-best prospect in the sport.

A native of Chula Vista, Calif., Mayer was originally selected by the Red Sox with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft out of Eastlake High School. Though he grew up a Yankees fan, Mayer forwent his commitment to Southern California and signed with Boston for a lucrative $6.664 million that July

As the Sox’ highest-selected player since 1967, Mayer entered the professional ranks with plenty of hype surrounding him. In a relatively small sample size of 140 minor-league games between the Florida Complex League, Low-A Salem, and Greenville, Mayer has shown why he is worthy of such attention.

Mayer, who does not turn 21 until December, is bilingual and has shown leadership qualities in the clubhouse. He has the ability to connect with both English- and Spanish-speaking teammates on and off the field, which only adds to his value within the organization.

As the Drive prepare to open a 12-game homestand at Fluor Field on Tuesday, more people have begun to wonder when Mayer will make the jump from Greenville to Double-A Portland. For Mayer himself, he is focused on the present as well as the challenge at hand.

“For me, I’m going out there and playing and I’m being where my feet are,” Mayer recently told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “I’m not really going to be thinking about Fenway when I’m in Portland. If I’m in Portland, I’m thinking about being in Portland.

“Obviously, my goal is to be a big leaguer. I want to be there as soon as possible,” he added. “There’s a lot of great players in this organization. So it’s not as easy as just saying, ‘Oh, I want to be in the big-leagues this year.’ But I’m really excited. I worked my tail off in the offseason. I’m super excited for this season.”

Liu named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week

After tossing a seven-inning no hitter in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Akron RubberDucks on Friday, Portland Sea Dogs right-hander C.J. Liu was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week.

Liu, 24, becomes the second Sea Dogs pitcher to earn the honor this season, joining lefty Shane Drohan. You can read more about Liu’s stellar outing — and his 2023 campaign as a whole — by clicking here.

(Picture of Marcelo Mayer: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Angel Bastardo strikes out 11 in latest start for High-A Greenville

Red Sox pitching prospect Angel Bastardo had a performance to remember in his third start of the season for High-A Greenville on Friday night.

Going up against the Greensboro Grasshoppers on the road at First National Bank Field, Bastardo allowed two earned runs on two hits and two walks to go along with 11 strikeouts over six solid innings of work in a tough-luck 2-1 losss.

The 11 punchouts represent a career-high for Bastardo, who finished with 84 pitches (58 strikes). The right-hander also induced 27 swings-and-misses while lowering his ERA on the season to 5.93 across 13 2/3 innings with the Drive.

Among 27 qualified South Atlantic League pitchers coming into play on Saturday, Bastardo ranks first in strikeouts per nine innings (13.83), second in strikeout rate (35.5 percent), 11th in batting average against (.212), second in line-drive rate (9.7 percent), first in swinging-strike rate (23.8 percent), and seventh in FIP (3.57), per FanGraphs.

While those numbers are undoubtedly encouraging, Bastardo also ranks 23rd in walks per nine innings (4.61), 21st in walk rate (11.9 percent), and 17th in WHIP (1.32), so there is still room for improvement in different areas, like command and control.

Bastardo, 2o, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 56 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 23rd among pitchers in the organization. The native Venezuelan originally signed with the Red Sox for just $35,000 as an international free agent coming out of Moron shortly after his 16th birthday in July 2018.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, Bastardo throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 93-95 mph fastball that tops out at 97 mph and shows sink, an 83-86 mph curveball that varies in shape, and an 84-88 mph changeup that can be inconsistent at times, according to his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Considering that he has only pitched at one level per year since debuting in the Dominican Summer League in 2019 and does not turn 21 until June, it seems likely that Bastardo will spend most — if not the entirety — of the 2023 season in Greenville’s starting rotation.

Bastardo can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career this winter. With those prior points in mind, though, the Red Sox probably won’t add the righty to their 40-man roster by the November deadline since he is still relatively raw and at least one full season away from garnering any sort of big-league consideration.

(Picture of Angel Bastardo: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan has swing-and-miss stuff

Because Jeremy Wu-Yelland underwent Tommy John surgery in April, Shane Drohan was the only member of the Red Sox’ 2020 draft class to pitch competitively this season.

Drohan, who was taken in the fifth round out of Florida State University two years ago, broke camp with High-A Greenville this spring after spending the entirety of the 2021 campaign at Low-A Salem.

In 22 appearances (20 starts) for the Drive, the left-hander posted a 4.00 ERA and 4.21 FIP to go along with 136 strikeouts to 40 walks over 105 2/3 innings of work. He allowed just two earned runs in his final three outings with Greenville before earning a promotion to Double-A Portland on August 16.

With the Sea Dogs, Drohan pitched to a 3.38 ERA with 21 strikeouts to 11 walks over five starts (24 innings). While he gave up runs less frequently, the 23-year-old southpaw saw his strikeout rate fall and his walk rate rise, which led to a higher FIP of 5.75.

It was certainly an adjustment period for Drohan, but he at least ended the year on a strong note by fanning eight of the 20 batters he faced in a 10-9 win over the Somerset Patriots in mid-September.

Between the two stops (Greenville and Portland), Drohan produced a cumulative 3.89 ERA and 4.49 FIP with 157 strikeouts to 51 walks across 27 appearances (25 starts) and 129 2/3 innings pitched. His 28.5 percent punchout rate ranked 50th among the 311 minor-league pitchers who threw at least 100 innings this season. His 16 percent swinging-strike rate ranked 15th, per FanGraphs.

On the heels of such a productive year on the mound, Drohan was named to SoxProspects.com’s 2022 All-Star team earlier this week. The Fort Lauderdale native is now regarded by the site as the No. 28 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 10th pitchers in the organization.

What makes Drohan so effective and capable of inducing whiffs in bunches? Well, he stands at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of an 88-92 mph four-seam fastball that tops out at 94 mph, a 75-77 mph curveball, and a 78-81 mph changeup.

Drohan, who turns 24 in January, will be entering an important season in 2023 as the former Seminole can become Rule 5-eligible for the first time in his career. He is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Portland next spring and the Red Sox will have until next November to add him to their 40-man roster.

As things stand now, Drohan has the upside to a be a back-end starter at the big-league level. Pitching his way onto Boston’s 40-man roster next season would certainly go a long way in solidifying — or maybe even surpassing — that projection.

(Picture of Shane Drohan: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox catching prospect Nathan Hickey turns in impressive first full pro season

Nathan Hickey came into his first full professional season ranked by Baseball America as the top catching prospect in the Red Sox farm system. He showed why he was worthy of that ranking over the last six months.

Selected by Boston in the fifth round of last year’s amateur draft out of the University of Florida, Hickey broke camp this spring with Low-A Salem, which is where he ended things in 2021.

In 41 games with Salem this season, the left-handed hitter batted .271/.429/.507 with 12 doubles, seven home runs, 39 RBIs, 31 runs scored, 39 walks, and 39 strikeouts over 182 plate appearances. That level of production prompted a promotion to High-A Greenville in late June.

With the Drive, Hickey hit for more power, though he also got on base less frequently. The 22-year-old slashed .252/.397/.539 with six doubles, nine homers, 23 runs driven in, 19 runs scored, 24 walks, and 39 strikeouts across 34 games (146 plate appearances). He was sidelined for a week in early August due to a concussion.

Between the two affiliates, Hickey produced a cumulative .263/.415/.522 slash line to go along with 18 doubles, 16 home runs, 62 RBIs, 50 runs scored, a walk rate of 19.2 percent, and a strikeout rate of 23.8 percent. Overall, his 155 wRC+ ranked third among minor-league catchers who made at least 100 trips to the plate this season, per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Hickey made 57 starts at catcher for Salem and Greenville this year. The 6-foot, 210-pound backstop logged 4585 2/3 innings behind the plate and threw out 10 of 75 base stealers. He also committed eight errors and allowed 10 passed balls.

Defense has been an issue with Hickey since before being drafted. The Jacksonville native came up as an infielder in high school but moved to catcher with the Gators so that he could regularly get his bat into the lineup.

Despite the lack of experience at a demanding position, the Red Sox still drafted Hickey as a catcher and signed him to an over-slot deal of $1 million. The doubts people had about his defensive abilities did not sit well with Hickey, as he explained to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier earlier this summer.

“I just hadn’t had enough time behind the plate to be able to show that was the spot for me,” Hickey said. “But I learned in one day more things about catching being here with Boston than I ever did at Florida.”

As detailed by Speier, Hickey did not call pitches at Florida and instead received the calls from his coaches. Since going pro, however, the Red Sox have let him call pitches on his own, which requires him to study up, implement a game plan, and be adaptable during games.

“It was a big step. Pitch-calling was kind of the thing that was stumping me a little bit at the beginning [of the season],” said Hickey. “But [being a catcher] is not really [about] me being successful, it’s making [the pitcher] look as successful as you can.”

In a separate, more recent piece for Baseball America, Speier relayed that pitchers enjoyed throwing to Hickey this season. And while Hickey has embraced becoming a game-caller, there is still more work to do in order to improve as a defender.

Hickey, who turns 23 in November, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 26 prospect in Boston’s farm system. That unsurprisingly ranks tops among catchers in the organization. He is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Greenville for the start of the 2023 minor-league season next spring.

With that being said, it certainly seems feasible for Hickey to make the jump to Double-A Portland before the end of the next campaign. We will have to wait and see on that.

(Picture of Nathan Hickey: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox catching prospect Brooks Brannon shows signs of promise in pro debut

The Red Sox have selected just one natural catcher in each of the last two amateur drafts. Last year, they took Nathan Hickey in the fifth round of the University of Florida. Earlier this summer, they took Brooks Brannon in the ninth round out of Randleman High School in Randleman, N.C.

At that time, Brannon was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 155 prospect in the 2022 draft class. The 18-year-old backstop was also committed to play college baseball at the University of North Carolina in nearby Chapel Hill.

It was believed that Brannon’s commitment to the Tar Heels was a strong one. But just two days after being drafted, the North Carolina native told HighSchoolOT’s Kyle Morton that he intended to go pro and sign with the Red Sox.

“Leading up to the draft, if I could have picked any team it would have been the Red Sox,” Brannon said. “They did the best as far as establishing a relationship. … Everything is very family oriented. … The fact that they have that is huge. I’m just glad to be a part of an organization that values that like they do.”

Towards the end of July, Brannon officially signed with Boston for $712,500. To put that number into context, third-rounder Dalton Rogers received a signing bonus of $447,500, so the Sox certainly went above and beyond to secure Brannon’s services.

“We were surprised to see him get that far,” amateur scouting director Paul Toboni told MLB.com’s Julia Kreuz back in July. “We think so highly of the baseball player and the person, we were beyond thrilled to see him staring at us at that point of the draft.

Fresh off belting 20 homers and driving in 91 runs as a senior at Randleman High, Brannon made his professional debut in the Florida Complex League on August 13. The right-handed hitter appeared in just five games for the FCL Red Sox, going 6-for-13 (.462) with one double, two triples, five RBIs, six runs scored, two walks, and five strikeouts.

Though he did not go deep in his brief pro cameo, Brannon was still recently identified by Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo as the best power hitter the Red Sox drafted this year.

“While the baseline stats are nice to see, [Brannon’s] underlying exit velocity data is even more encouraging,” Collazo wrote on Monday, “with the best 90th percentile exit velocity mark (105 mph) of this Boston draft class.”

On the other side of the ball, there are questions about whether Brannon can stick behind the plate long-term. The 6-foot, 210-pounder is described by Baseball America as someone who “needs to improve his actions behind the plate as both a receiver and pitch blocker.” Although his arm strength stands out, Brannon did not throw out any of the three runners who tried to steal against him in the Florida Complex League.

“Brooks’ defensive skill set was one of the parts of his game that we were drawn to most,” Toboni said over the summer. “While he’s big and physical, he’s really flexible and athletic. He can get his body into some pretty unique positions, especially for a big, strong kid. We also think he has good hands behind the plate and an obviously strong arm. In our eyes, he possesses all the physical and mental traits to take off with professional instruction.”

Brannon, who does not turn 19 until next May, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 30 prospect in Boston’s farm system. That ranks third among backstops in the organization behind only Hickey and Connor Wong.

Given that he has just five FCL games under his belt, Brannon is expected to return to the rookie-level affiliate next summer. That being said, it would not be all that surprising if he made it up to Low-A Salem before the end of the 2023 season.

(Picture of Brooks Brannon: Bryan Green/Flickr)

Red Sox relief prospect Jacob Wallace ended his season by posting 1.38 ERA in final 19 appearances for Double-A Portland

In some respects, it was a tale of two seasons for Red Sox relief prospect Jacob Wallace.

After spending the entirety of the 2021 campaign with High-A Greenville, Wallace made the jump to Double-A Portland out of camp earlier this spring. The right-hander got off a tough start while going up more advanced competition, as he posted a 6.75 ERA in the month of April.

By the time the All-Star break arrived in late July, Wallace’s numbers had not improved much. Although he was holding opposing batters to a .191 batting average against, the 24-year-old was struggling with his command and walking nearly 22 percent of the batters he had faced to that point. That led to an ERA of 5.87 and a FIP of 5.96.

Maybe he worked on something or maybe he just took some time off. But whatever Wallace did over the course of the four-day summer break clearly worked.

From July 22 through the end of the regular season, Wallace pitched to a much-improved 1.38 ERA and 4.07 FIP to go along with 30 walks to 17 walks across 19 relief appearances spanning 26 innings of work. The free passes were still an issue to a certain extent, but the righty did manage to lower his walk rate down to 16.3 percent in the second half.

“I started off the year not doing so hot with the control,” Wallace told The Eagle-Tribune’s Mac Cerullo last month. “As much emphasis as there is always with it, I struggled a little bit. I was getting in my own head with my mechanics and beating myself out there, which haltered a good season right out of the gate. But I worked on it all year long and the mechanics kind of clicked, and that’s helped me get better control and keep the walks down.”

A native of Methuen, Mass., Wallace was originally selected by the Rockies in the third round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the University of Connecticut. The following September, the Red Sox acquired the local hurler as the player to be named later in the August 2020 trade that sent veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar to Colorado.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, Wallace is described by SoxProspects.com as having “among the best raw stuff for a true relief prospect in the system, with the potential for two plus pitches.” Those two pitches — a high-90s fastball and mid-80s slider — are now complemented by a changeup and a cutter.

“I’m still getting the perfect location on it and trying to get it inside to lefties and away to righties and locating that really well, but overall feeling great throwing it,” Wallace said. “Just pure confidence going into the game knowing if [the catcher] puts down a cutter I’m going to throw it for a strike, swing and miss, whatever I need.”

Wallace, who does not turn 25 until next August, can become Rule 5-eligible this off-season if he is not added to Boston’s 40-man roster by the November deadline. Assuming he remains in the organization through the winter, it appears likely he will break camp with Triple-A Worcester in the spring.

“I’m going at my pace. I feel like what I’ve learned this year would have been lost on me if I’d just jumped up to Worcester early with a good start,” said Wallace. “I wouldn’t have grown as a player as much as I did this year sticking around in Portland. It’s honestly perfect that I haven’t moved up, and growing as a player down here and being able to really feel comfortable down here and gain that confidence, pitching against the Double-A guys because they’re good enough as it is. But I’m excited for that next step and that’s on the Red Sox to tell me when that’s the case.”

(Picture of Jacob Wallace: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox pitching prospect Victor Santos tosses 5 one-run innings in final start of season for Triple-A Worcester

Victor Santos ended his first full season in the Red Sox organization on a strong note Monday night.

In his final start of the year for Triple-A Worcester, Santos held the Rochester Red Wings to just one run on four hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts over five solid innings of work.

The right-hander very well could have pitched deeper into the game after only throwing 72 pitches (49 strikes) through five, but it was ultimately called in the top of the sixth due to rain in the Rochester-area. And so the WooSox came away with a 6-1 win over the Red Wings while Santos was credited with a complete-game victory.

Monday’s performance continued an encouraging trend for Santos that dates back to August 25. In his final six starts of the season for Worcester, the 22-year-old hurler posted a 1.91 ERA and 2.45 FIP with 39 strikeouts to just nine walks across 33 frames.

This comes after Santos initially struggled when he first made the jump from Double-A Portland to Worcester last month. The Dominican-born righty was tagged for 17 runs in his first three starts (10 2/3 innings) for the WooSox before turning things around in late August.

Prior to earning that aforementioned promotion, Santos had pitched to a 4.97 ERA and 4.78 FIP with 79 punchouts to 20 walks over 19 appearances (16 starts) spanning 101 1/3 innings for the Sea Dogs to begin the 2022 campaign.

The Red Sox originally acquired Santos from the Phillies as the player to be named later in the January 2021 trade that sent minor-league infielder C.J. Chatham to Philadelphia. He made his organizational debut in Portland last July.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 191 pounds, Santos throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a 90-92 mph four-seam fastball that tops out at 93 mph, a low-90s sinker, an 82-84 mph split-changeup, and an 83-86 mph slider, per his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Although he has already reached Triple-A and does not turn 23 until next July, Santos is not currently regarded by any major publication as one of the top pitching prospects in Boston’s farm system. He is instead viewed by sites such as SoxProspects.com as a “potential solid organizational starter” who has the “ceiling of an emergency up-and-down depth arm.”

That being said, Santos can become Rule 5-eligible this winter. If left unprotected by the Red Sox, he could be scooped up by another team in December. Assuming he does not get picked up, though, Santos would seemingly be in line to return to Worcester’s rotation for the start of the 2023 season.

(Picture of Victor Santos: Katie Morrison/MassLive)