Red Sox: Four Gulf Coast League pitching prospects to watch
By Rick McNair
The Boston Red Sox Gulf Coast League team will have a few pitchers who may eventually surface in Boston. Here are four to keep an eye on.
The Red Sox have two lower levels in their system that mark the beginning of a professional career. The first is the Dominican Summer League and next is Rookie Level and for players that means the Gulf Coast League and the Gulf Coast League Red Sox. The roster of both teams is set at a maximum of 35 and can be fluid based on injuries, upward movement or simply being cut.
You can go back into the league and look at rosters since MILB has that technology. A scan of the Red Sox rosters and the league leaders for all teams shows that most names – the overwhelming majority – are not recognizable. They simply failed somewhere along the ladder, but then the names that you do recognize. Some have become All-Stars.
The projected roster has four names that caught by attention and the first is a 19-year-old Dominican who received a bonus of $1.5 Million from the Red Sox. Christopher Acosta has the lean build of a pitcher at 6’3” and 170 pounds. The right-handed hurler will be Rule 5 eligible in 2018 and that in certain cases can mean a player is lost, but it is not as widely used as one would suspect. The outline of Rule 5 is explained here.
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This coming season will give a direction to how Acosta will proceed. The talented pitcher has maturity issues that placed his 2016 season and career on hold. I wrote about this in an article last September, but Acosta has the ability according to projections to be a middle to lower rotation starter.
Jose Gonzalez is an 18-year-old righty from Venezuela – the Red Sox are especially active in Venezuela – who stands 6’ and weighs 175 pounds. The first note that attracted me was an 8-0 record followed by a 2.12 BB/9. Walks are the plague to me – the lice infested rats for advancement. When a player at this age has that level of control it makes him added to my watch list.
Gonzalez made 13 starts in 2016 and tossed 68 innings, allowing just 45 hits. The low hit and walk total resulted in a 0.90 WHIP and that is very respectable in any league. The scouting reports are limited on Gonzalez, but with an 8.07 K/9 and a .251 BABIP Gonzalez may not be delivering heat, but certainly is developing as a pitcher and not a thrower mentality. Gonzalez is Rule 5 in December 2019.
More from Red Sox Prospects
- Predicting top Red Sox outfield prospect Ceddanne Rafaela’s timeline to the majors
- Predicting Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer’s timeline to the majors
- Red Sox risk repeating rookie mistake with Eric Hosmer release
- Red Sox invited group of players you’ve probably never heard of to Spring Training
- Jeter Downs’ official departure will continue to haunt Red Sox
Another Venezuelan of note is 21-year-old Ritzi Mendoza. Mendoza is a right-handed pitcher who did nothing to draw attention in his first three seasons – all in the DSL. Last season it came together and earned Mendoza the Red Sox Minor League Latin Program Pitcher of the Year.
The record in the DSL was 7-0, but attached was a minuscule 1.05 ERA and 0.76 WHIP. This represented a significant turnaround for Mendoza who prior to 2016 would make Henry Owens appear a control artist. Mendoza does not strike out many with a 6.32 K/9 in 2016, but his .207 BABIP and no home runs allowed shows some good ability to keep hitters off stride.
Mendoza is Rule 5 in December and just may draw some interest if he advances beyond the GCL this season. Mendoza made appearances in 14 games in 2016 – all as a starter.
Bryan Mata will not be 18-years-old until May of this year. Another lean (6’3”, 160 LB) right-hander from Venezuela. Mata was a starter last season in the DSL making 14 appearances and posting a 4-4 record. Mata posted a 2.80 BB/9 and 9.00 K/9 in his 61 innings and a 2.80 ERA.
The scouting report has Mata topping out in the low 90s with his fastball and developing a curve and change to have a respectable three-pitch mix. Mata has plenty of rough edges, but as scouts would say: “Meat on the bones will tell.” Mata will not be Rule 5 until December 2010.
Next: Ramirez slowed by shoulder soreness
If history is an indicator the chances are none of the four mentioned will be in the majors, but that does not exclude the possibility that one or more may develop to be contributors in Boston or elsewhere.
Sources: Fangraphs/ Sox Prospects