Boston Red Sox Prospects: Chris Murphy promoted to Triple-A

Red Sox prospect Chris Murphy has been promoted to Triple-A

Well the best possible news here is people don’t have to listen to me loudly complain that Boston Red Sox pitching prospect Chris Murphy hasn’t gotten promoted to Triple-A anymore, because on Monday it finally happened.

The left-handed pitcher has been a masterclass on the mound all year long. He finishes up his time in Double-A this season with a 2.58 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a .170 BAA. Do you realize how absurd that is? In 76 2/3 innings he has a .170 BAA. People just were not hitting him.

Oh, and he has 91 strikeouts. Which was third in the Eastern League.

Okay look, I get it. The Worcester Red Sox had way too much pitching as it is. So they couldn’t just call everyone up. But Murphy is an extremely talented pitching prospect. It felt like they were wasting him in Double-A. Clearly, he had done everything he could do there. And continuing to pitch in Double-A wasn’t really going to help him much anymore.

His last outing saw the 24-year-old toss six shutout innings, allowing just one hit and three walks, while striking out eight. It was definitely time. Now he’s faced with a new challenge. And it really feels like he’s more-than ready for it.

For those unfamiliar with Chris Murphy, the lefty has a really nice pitch mix. He gives you a low-mid 90s fastball and can touch 95 with it pretty regularly. A low-80s slider that he doesn’t use often, but it looks solid when he brings it out of his bag.

Then there’s a curveball in the low-mid 70s that has a phenomenal break to it and is definitely his most underrated pitch. Has the ability to freeze hitters by sneaking it backdoor, or just make them look bad swinging at something in the dirt. Finally, his changeup in the low-80s that is obviously my favorite pitch. Looks like his fastball out of the hand and completely disappears on hitters. Seems really comfortable with that pitch.

He also appears to be a great teammate and clubhouse guy. And that counts for a lot. It makes the player a lot easier for the fans to root for. You can never have too many “high-character” guys in the locker room.

Murph has been impressive ever since joining the Boston Red Sox organization in 2019. After dominating in Double-A for the first half of 2022, he finally gets the call to Triple-A that he’s deserved.