Simeon Woods Richardson Keeps Rolling with Nearly Flawless Start in Double-A
Blue Jays fourth-ranked prospect Simeon Woods Richardson showed the command of a potential ace on Tuesday night against the Somerset Patriots.
Woods Richardson – after a great outing in his first start – had all his pitches working, going five innings, striking out eight batters, walking two and allowing just one earned run.
The right-hander now rocks a cool 2.00 ERA this Double-A season and is quickly proving why he's such a highly touted pitching prospect. With minimal commitment to starting pitching beyond 2021, Toronto will be counting on Woods Richardson to compliment its major league pitching staff in the coming years.
Woods Richardson carved through Patriots batters with ease, striking out two batters in the first inning and retiring the side in order. He showed excellent command of his changeup – a pitch that scouts consider one of the best in Toronto's system – and painted the outside corner with a fastball to get his first strikeout of the night.
A Jordan Groshans error put a runner on in the second inning, but Woods Richardson – who sat in the low 90s with his fastball –picked up his teammate, sitting down the next three hitters and, this time, using a perfectly placed breaking ball on the outer half to register his third strikeout.
The 20-year-old – who was a key piece in the 2019 trade that sent Marcus Stroman to the Mets – whiffed another hitter with a breaking ball in the third inning.
His command slipped a bit in the fourth. He got two weak-contact groundouts, before a four-pitch walk and a stolen base threatened his shutout. Woods Richardson ended the threat with a fastball at the knees for his fifth punch out of the night.
The no-hitter was broken up when Patriots left-fielder Thomas Milone homered to start the fifth. Woods Richardson was unphased and promptly struck out the next three Patriots, sitting down Yankees No. 10 prospect Estevan Florial with a high fastball. His night was done after five innings and eight strikeouts on 78 pitches, 48 for strikes.
This trend of pitching excellence began early in 2021 for Woods Richardson. He looked like a true veteran in spring training, throwing eight scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. At one point he breezed through the heart of the Yankees order, fanning Giancarlo Stanton on just three pitches.
#BlueJays No. 4 prospect Simeon Woods Richardson strikes out Giancarlo Stanton on three pitches: pic.twitter.com/PstpXL7nPh
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 3, 2021
Woods Richardson will continue at Double-A for the time being, but if he keeps showing off reliable command and strong swing-and-miss-stuff, a trip to Triple-A Buffalo/Trenton isn't far off.
Other prospect news
- Catcher Gabriel Moreno (Blue Jays no. 7 prospect) was the game’s hero. He hit a two-run oppo-bomb and drove in five runs, including a walk-off walk, raising his OPS to 1.234.
- Shortstop Jordan Groshans (Blue Jays no. 3 prospect) went 1-3 at the plate, with a single and two walks. He made his third and fourth errors in just the seventh game this season.
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Ethan Diamandas is a contributing writer who covers the Toronto Blue Jays for Sports Illustrated. He also writes for Yahoo Sports Canada and MLB.com. Follow Ethan on Twitter @EthanDiamandas