Conversation about the top prospects in the Boston Red Sox system over the past year or two has focused primarily on the position players, and why not?
Led by “the big three” of Roman Anthony (Boston’s No. 1 prospect; MLB’s No. 1 prospect), Kristian Campbell (No. 2; No. 4) and Marcelo Mayer (No. 3; No. 9), the Red Sox boast a pipeline of talent who figure to be mainstays in the team’s lineup for years to come.
But according to Baseball America’s Ben Badler and Carlos Collazo, the Red Sox have some impressive pitchers in their farm system that may be getting a bit overlooked. In a recent episode of the podcast “Future Projections,” the duo suggested that Boston’s prospect pendulum might be swinging toward the pitching side.
“The pitching overall in the Red Sox system I think looks a lot brighter than it did if we’re having this conversation a few years ago,” Badler said.
“It’s kind of cool to see Boston maybe become Pitching U. right before our eyes,” Collazo agreed.
Connelly Early Exceeds Expectations With High Strikeout Numbers
In particular, the podast co-hosts said they have been intrigued by the development of 23-year-old left-hander Connelly Early . Drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 draft, Early has steadily risen through the Red Sox system, striking out a lot of batters along the way.
And exceeding the pre-draft expectations of the baseball analysts.
Early pitched for two seasons with Army , the first mostly as a reliever, then as a starter his sophomore season. He transferred to the University of Virginia and started 18 games for the Cavaliers, going 12-3 with a 3.29 ERA and striking out 100 with 23 walks in 87.1 innings. Still, Collazo said that Early’s stuff “was never really loud stuff in college.”
It’s making noise now.
Early spent most of the 2024 season at High-A Greenville, but he finished with eight starts at Double-A Portland, and he combined to strike out 138 batters in 103.2 innings. At Double-A to start this season, Early has pitched in 13.2 innings over four games, two of them starts, allowing seven hits and seven walks while striking out 22.
“I’ve been in a good spot to start the season,” Early said . “Hopefully that just keeps going up.”
Connelly Early Shows Commitment at Franchise’s Offseason Training Program
The coaches credit Early for the hard work he has put in, noting his commitment to the organization’s offseason training program.
“Literally every time we give him a player plan goal, he knocks it off,” Red Sox director of pitching Justin Willard said. “He’s the goal crusher.”
And with a crazy good arsenal of pitches, Badler said Early has been able to utilize an “any pitch, any count” approach.
“He’s a 6-3 lefty with a fastball that’s up to 97 mph, which is a small uptick from last year, but he only throws his fastball 22 percent of the time, at least early on this year,” Badler said. “He throws his changeup a third of the time, his slider a third of the time. So his fastball is his third-most used pitch, at least early on. There’s a curveball in there, a cutter or two. The changeup is the money maker for him. It’s got 11, 12 mph off his fastball, he disguises it really well, it’s got late drop, it’s a plus pitch. I think that his slider looks like it’s taken a step forward this year, too. There’s good lateral break to it. He’s getting it to the back foot of right-handed hitters for empty swings. He came into the year as a top 10 prospect in the red sox system, so I wouldn’t call him a sleeper necessarily, but I’m even more excited about him now that we’re a few outings into the year.”
And who’d a thunk it, Collazo said.
“Because again, just thinking back to the draft, I don’t think he was ever a guy who we thought of as having a single plus pitch, and now you’re talking about a pretty compelling all-around profile for a 23-year-old now performing in Double-A,” he said.
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