Yet Another Red Sox Pitching Prospect In Mix For Promotion

The Boston Red Sox have leaned on youth in the pitching staff this season. Hunter Dobbins, Richard Fitts and Payton Tolle have all been important figures at times. With pitching depth a concern, they could soon be adding another rookie to the mix.

Triple-A Worcester played a doubleheader on Sunday. Connelly Early was slated to start the late game, but was scratched in favor of Isaac Coffey. Early wasn’t injured. Worcester Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said he was scratched at the request of the big league club.

“[The Red Sox] wanted him not to pitch, and they’re probably dealing with stuff up there, and they said they just don’t want him to (throw). So he’s staying available,” Tracy said.

Tracy mentioned nothing is imminent, but the Red Sox have an opening in their rotation on Wednesday. Red Sox manager Alex Cora mentioned that Tolle wouldn’t start the game, but could figure in out of the bullpen. The team is managing his workload and doesn’t want him to start on four days’ rest.

Early and Tolle could combine for the bulk of the innings on Wednesday. Dustin May is also starting on Tuesday and hasn’t been able to work deep into games. With Garrett Crochet pitching on Monday, additional length out of the bullpen shouldn’t be needed until Tuesday.

Early has appeared in 23 games across two levels and has registered a 2.60 ERA over 100 1/3 innings. He’s striking out 31.9% of hitters while walking 9.7%. Like Tolle, he’s a left-handed pitcher who strides down the mound well to help his pitches play up. His fastball averages 93.5 mph and has shown some bat-missing ability, but it isn’t as dominant as Tolle’s.

His changeup is his best weapon. It has excellent separation from his fastball, showing good arm-side movement and vertical depth. He uses it as his primary off-speed pitch, returning a 20.7% swinging strike rate. He’s also used a slider, sweeper, curveball and sinker to round out his arsenal.

If he does get the call, he’ll require a 40-man roster spot. Like Tolle was, he isn’t going to be Rule-5 Draft eligible until next winter and doesn’t need to be protected this offseason. If they do promote him, it’s one fewer player they can protect this off-season. The Athletics are also a difficult matchup. Players on their active roster have a 116 wRC+ against lefties, the fourth-best mark in the league.