Inside The Red Sox

Recently Acquired Red Sox Prospect Showcases ‘Dominant’ Stuff In Latest Outing

Boston's young arm showed flashes of greatness on Monday

Colin Keane

Mark Cunningham / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
In this story:

The Boston Red Sox continue to witness the fruits of a trade they made last December.

Boston sent outfielder Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees on December 5, 2023, in exchange for pitching prospect Richard Fitts, as well as Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice.

While Verdugo was effective on the Red Sox, he’s been outperformed by his replacement this season in rookie Wilyer Abreu, which has made Boston’s chief baseball officer Craig Breslow look awfully wise for making the trade.

Another continuing benefit of the Verdugo deal is the development of Fitts, who put on a show of Major League-level pitching with Triple-A Worcester Red Sox on Monday. According to a report from MassLive’s Christopher Smith, it wasn’t the first time that Fitts has looked dominant this season in Worcester.

“Richard Fitts on Monday tossed one of his most dominant performances since the Red Sox acquired him from the Yankees in the Alex Verdugo trade last offseason,” Smith said.

“The 24-year-old righty allowed just two hits and no walks while striking out five in 6 scoreless innings. He recorded 20 swings and misses against Rochester batters in Triple-A Worcester’s 3-1 win.”

“He got 12 swings and misses with his slider, which he threw 40 times. He also recorded six swings and misses with his four-seam fastball, which he threw 25 times. His four-seamer averaged 94.2 mph and topped out at 95.3 mph.”

“This was arguably his second best start since joining the Red Sox. He took a perfect game into the eighth inning. In that one, he recorded 15 swings and misses. He threw 36 sliders, 32 fastballs and 14 changeups. His four-seamer averaged 94.4 mph and topped out at 96.3 mph.”

With the Red Sox in dire need of pitching reinforcements heading into 2025, the rise of Fitts is a sight for sore eyes within the organization.

More MLB: Recently Cut Red Sox Fan-Favorite DFA'd By Reds; Should Boston Re-Acquire?

Published
Colin Keane

COLIN KEANE

Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "Boston Red Sox On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Home/Boston Red Sox News