Red Sox Prospect Watch: Spring Training is in Full Swing
By Mike El-Far
Pitchers
What a wild week it has been in Boston in terms of pitchers. Roughly a week ago today, the news came that David Price needed an MRI on his elbow. Which we all know is the precursor to Tommy John surgery. This was escalated when Price took a flight to Indianapolis to meet with Dr. James Andrews, who is basically Mr. Tommy John at this point.
Surprisingly, he didn’t need surgery. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe sent out one tweet that made Red Sox Nation step off the ledge:
Breaking: No surgery for #RedSox LHP David Price. Rest and medication. Farrell calls it best case scenario. 7-10 days off for him.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) March 3, 2017
Now it is more probable than not that Price will not start the season on the Red Sox roster. That opens up another roster spot for a pitcher, and two guys who could get that spot are Brian Johnson and Robby Scott.
Boy, would I love to go back to the days where Brian Johnson was thought of as being a great pitching prospect. But that was 3 years ago, and he has been on a downward spiral ever since. Currently, Johnson has a 5.79 ERA, and an alarming 1:1 strikeout to walk ratio. But, Johnson might be a candidate for a spot start here and there this upcoming season.
Robby Scott is more intriguing. Scott made his MLB debut last September, and had a small amount of success. He has continued it in Fort Myers, as he has pitched four shutout innings this spring. With Carson Smith still not back from his Tommy John surgery in June, Scott might be able to take one of those bullpen spots to start the year.
Also, Tyler Thornburg has struggled mightily this spring. I’m not saying that Thornburg is going to struggle when the season starts, but this could open up Scott to pitch in more high-leverage situations. If Scott can prove himself in Boston again this year, it could be another weapon that would bolster Boston’s bullpen.