11. Noah Song (Starting Pitcher)
The Red Sox couldn’t pass up on Noah Song when he was available to them in the fourth-round of the 2019 draft. This was a pitcher that was an obvious first-round talent. However, his commitment to the Navy meant he might not be able to pitch for a few years.
Instead, Song made seven starts for the Short-A Lowell Spinners in 2019. My goodness was he dominant in them. Over 17 innings, Song allowed just two runs on 10 hits and five walks. That’s a 1.06 ERA, .167 BAA, and 0.88 WHIP. Oh, and the right-handed pitcher had 19 strikeouts in that time as well.
Song already has some pretty legitimate stuff. Seriously the only downside teams saw to him was his Navy commitment. He’s 22 now and they didn’t want a 24 or 25-year-old who hadn’t pitched in two or three years having to build up from the beginning. Due to that, it makes sense that teams passed on him early.
Wow did it work out for Boston. Song is a pretty obvious rotation solution in a few years. There is no reason to believe he won’t become an elite prospect and extremely hyped prior to his debut. There’s also no reason to believe he won’t live up to that hype.
Song is listed at 6’4″, 200 lbs. Not to sound cliche but he’s also a Navy man, so you know he’s got a solid frame.
His fastball sits in the mid-high-90s and he’s already got a really good command of the pitch. Song can put it where he wants and will definitely blow it by a lot of hitters. Potentially an elite fastball.
He also has a curveball in the mid-70s. It’s got a big break but sometimes it will go flat and just kind of sit. That can’t happen in the Majors or it’s going to be 30 rows deep. This is his last pitch though and something he doesn’t throw very often. He’s got a lot of time to work on it as well.
Song’s slider is already pretty solid. Sits in the low-to-mid 80s and dips nicely with a sharp cut. This is another pitch he sometimes leaves flat, but when it’s on it’s pretty devastating and will lead to a lot of terribly weak contact and bad swings-and-misses.
Then there’s the changeup. Usually, in the low-mid-80s, this pitch has a good 10-15 MPH off his fastball but it looks very similar when it comes to his motion and the look out of his hand. It also has a really nice late drop that will get a lot of hitters to swing over-top of it.
This is his best secondary pitch and that makes me very happy, but the fastball is the showstopper.
What it all comes down to though is the fact that Song has two very good pitches already, another solid one and a final pitch that needs work but has potential. He’s got the look and all the tools to be a very successful pitcher in the Majors. The Red Sox should count themselves extremely lucky to have snagged him in the fourth-round.