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What to look for from every top Red Sox prospect in 2022

By Daniel Fox

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 17: Jarren Duran #40 of the Boston Red Sox at bat against the New York Yankees in the second inning during game two of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on August 17, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 17: Jarren Duran #40 of the Boston Red Sox at bat against the New York Yankees in the second inning during game two of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on August 17, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /
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FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Bryan Mata #90 of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning of a Grapefruit spring training game at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 27, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Bryan Mata #90 of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning of a Grapefruit spring training game at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 27, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

7: SP Bryan Mata

What to look for: A successful return from Tommy John surgery

Bryan Mata burst onto the Red Sox prospect radar with a breakout season in 2019. After a 2018 season in which he struggled with his control and walked over seven batters per nine innings, Mata cut that number in half the following year, allowing his elite stuff to play up. Mata posted a 1.75 ERA over ten starts at Salem and earned a midseason promotion to Double-A Portland.

Mata’s fastball is arguably the best in the Red Sox system. He features a sinking two-seamer that can touch 97 and a four-seamer that can reach triple digits. He pairs that with a slider and a changeup that can be plus pitches at times, giving him a repertoire that may already be major league ready.

The issue for Mata has always been inconsistency. He too often follows great locations with poor ones, solid outings with disasters. That unevenness plagued him again in his Double-A stint, as he had 5.03 in his 53.2 innings in Portland. Mata was expected to try his luck again at Double-A in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic wiped out his age 21 season.

Mata’s career was further decimated when he underwent Tommy John surgery in April of 2021. He will return sometime this summer over two and a half years since he threw his last pitch. With a layoff that great, all Red Sox fans can hope for is that Mata still possesses a semblance of the elite stuff that once made him the top pitching prospect in the Red Sox system.

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