Boston Red Sox top-30 prospect rankings after the 2019 season

17. Yoan Aybar (Relief Pitcher)

I love Yoan Aybar. I absolutely love Yoan Aybar. The left-handed pitcher might be one of the most entertaining players to watch in the entire Red Sox minor league system.

If you read my Prospect Watch articles you would know why. In 40 appearances in Full-A, Aybar had a 4.88 ERA. He threw 51 2/3 innings and had a pretty high 1.43 WHIP to go along with the high ERA.

However, that was all due to the incredibly high walk rate. Aybar allowed 40 walks in those 51 2/3 innings. The rest of the numbers were phenomenal. Opponents hit just .180 against him and he had 67 strikeouts.

At the end of the year, he was promoted to Advanced-A. There he made four appearances. In those four appearances he allowed just one run in five innings. Most importantly, he only allowed one walk (three strikeouts). That all equaled out to a 1.80 ERA, .125 BAA and 0.60 WHIP.

When things are going good for Aybar, he is absolutely untouchable.

At just 22, there is still plenty of time for Aybar to grow as well. That’s great news as the only thing stopping him from being completely dominant is the command.

Aybar has an electric fastball. It sits in the high-mid 90s and has a great bite to it. This pitch is completely overpowering when he’s on. Even when he’s off his game, it can get him out of jams.

Aybar also has a slider and a changeup. Both are extremely inconsistent though. The slider is usually in the high-80s and breaks really nicely at times. This pitch can drop and cut at a devastating rate. However, he can leave it flat too. And when that happens, bad things will be the result. He can also lose complete control over it and make some wild pitches.

The changeup isn’t used as often. That’s good for the time being because he has a big problem with it. When it’s on, it’s a low-80s MPH pitch that has nice drop. However, he isn’t going to fool many people with it for two reasons.

First, he tends to lose the feel for it quickly. Second, the arm motion looks really uncomfortable. It’s almost as if he wants to fool the batters by making it look like the same motion as his fastball, but then halfway through decides that’s a bad idea and tries to change it up. If he can figure out his delivery on the pitch, it could be much more effective.

Aybar’s time of arrival in the majors is an absolute question mark. The reason for that is that it’s all up to his command. If he finds it, the Red Sox might want to fast track him. Aybar has the potential to be an absolutely lethal bullpen arm, and as a lefty his value only increases.

He will start the year in Advanced-A, and could very well see at least one promotion in 2020. If you get a chance to see him pitch, take the opportunity Aybar can be that fun.