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Physical Description:
Athletic frame. Slightly undersized.
Sturdy, filled out. Minimal remaining projection. Runs with a
limp and cannot bend right leg due to a childhood injury as a
result of which his right leg is shorter than his left.
Condition does not limit him at all on the mound or when
fielding his position.
Mechanics: Throws
from a three-quarters arm slot. Starts on the first base side
and has a high leg kick. Significant effort in delivery. Very
short stride. Long arm swing behind and then explodes forward
with a lightning-quick arm. Back leg does not bend much, if at
all, during delivery, but he is still able to drive off it. Will
add a trunk twist on some occasions to change his timing when
coming to the plate.
Fastball: 96-98
mph. Tops out at 100 mph. Velocity increased substantially after
signing. Pitch shows life up in the zone, but is on the straight
side and plays below its velocity. Command and control are
erratic, but have improved as 2024 has gone on. Potential plus
offering with refined command.
Changeup:
87-89 mph. Has evolved from his splitter in 2024 and become his
go-to out pitch, with premium bat-missing ability. Has shown
much better feel for the pitch as the season has gone on. Has
shown the ability to land it in the zone or get it out of the
zone when looking for chases. Pitch shows late, splitterish dive
down and away from left-handed hitters. Potential plus pitch.
Slider: 83-86 mph. Longer, 10-to-4
break. Pitch shows two-plane shape and tight rotation at its
best. Has gotten better as he has moved up the ladder and
started to throw it more. Can get inconsistent at times, but
will flash bat-missing potential. Potential solid-average
offering.
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Splitter: 83-86 mph. Extremely low spin rate. At
times has served as his primary out pitch, but would go through
extended periods in which he would apparently lose feel for the
pitch. Apparently shelved the pitch in mid-May 2024 in favor of
the changeup after struggling to throw the splitter for strikes.
When the pitch was good, had confidence in and feel for the
pitch, which showed late, parachuting movement down in the zone.
Had the potential to miss bats at the highest level and was
especially effective against left-handed hitters. Did not show
the same quality in outings scouted in early 2023, during which
he struggled to land pitch in the zone and throw competitive
enough pitches to elicit swings, but he only threw it sparingly
and therefore may have been throwing less often in order to
focus on developing his slider. Feel for the pitch started to
come back towards the end of 2023.
Career Notes:
Born in the Dominican Republic and moved to Boston as a child.
Had surgery on his right knee as a child and required a
nine-month hospitalization. As a result, development of the
muscles in his right leg was hindered and his knee has very
little bend. Participated in the 2021 MLB Draft League. Used six
different pitches in college, but the Red Sox asked him to focus
on his fastball, splitter, and slider after signing. Team
expected him to break camp in 2023 with High-A Greenville, but
performed so well in spring training that he was assigned to
Portland. Received first MLB call-up in September 2024 after an
extended stretch of success in Triple-A spurred by improved
command and control.
Summation:
Potential middle-inning reliever. Ceiling of a late-inning,
leverage reliever. Has some of the best raw stuff of any relief
arm in the system, but needs to improve command and control and
consistency. Walks will always be an area of concern, but has
shown much better strike throwing ability as 2024 has gone on.
Changeup/splitter is a potential separator pitch with the
ability to miss bats at the highest level. Fastball has good
velocity, but is hittable and he will have to show the ability
to command it to succeed. Has plus makeup and is regarded as one
of the hardest workers in the system. Very popular with
teammates.
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