How did 2020 impact Boston Red Sox prospect Connor Seabold?
2020 was not a great year for the Boston Red Sox. They finished the shortened season with a miserable record and it highlighted multiple serious problems for them – one being pitching.
However, there is some good news. Boston has a ton of exciting prospects, and they added quite a few more when unloading some MLB talent before the trade deadline. One big name that they added to the fold is Connor Seabold. How did 2020 impact him?
The most obvious impact for Seabold was the trade. It might not have happened without the wild 2020 season.
Let’s be honest, Boston would not have been a good team even with a full 162-game slate. In fact, they probably would have been even worse. The pitching staff was ugly and a 60-game season at least kept them from being stretched out too much. Imagine if you had to watch them try to figure out a rotation for a full season? Nobody wants to see that.
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Seabold did not appear in the Majors in 2020. However, he did make appearances at the alternative site. Actually, he made appearances at two alternative sites, as the righty pitched at both Boston’s and Philadelphia’s sites.
The 24-year-old has yet to pitch above Double-A. If there was a normal 2020 season though, he likely would have spent a majority of the time in Triple-A and might have even made it to the Majors.
If you’re questioning the “might have even made it to the Majors” part of that sentence, look no further than the stats. In 2019, Seabold posted a 2.24 ERA in 56.1/3 innings in the minors (that includes a 2.25 ERA in 40 innings in Double-A).
Along with that 2.24 ERA, Seabold also had a 1.01 WHIP and .224 BAA. Meanwhile, he struck out 58 batters and only walked 11. He was crushing it.
Admittedly, I have not seen much of Seabold. However, what I have seen is a solid fastball (that sits in the mid-low 90s) and a potentially elite changeup. He also has a decent breaking ball that could be thrown into the mix.
All that combined will have him in a fantastic spot in Boston. The Red Sox need pitching. Philadelphia likely would have called up Seabold and given him a look in 2020, so you could argue that in that sense, the weird season hurt him.
However, now he is in a position where he has a clear path to a full rotation spot. The Red Sox have a much more obvious need for the right-hander.
He has great hair and sort of looks like that dude at a College party that no one knows who they are or who invited them, but ends up being the life of the party and dominates the table. 10/10 would invite to my party if I wasn’t washed up.
As for 2020, it might not have gone how Connor Seabold envisioned – but it actually had a positive impact on him. He is now in a fantastic situation with the Boston Red Sox. Expect him to start 2021 in the minors, but he could be fast tracked to the Majors – where a rotation spot could be waiting for the righty to lock down for the next 10-plus years.