Boston Red Sox Prospects: Player at each level that needs more attention
By Hunter Noll
Double-A: Boston Red Sox pitching prospect Brendan Nail
This one is sort of on me. Yes, the media and fans don’t really give Brendan Nail the attention he deserves. But neither do I. The left-handed reliever has had a stellar year. Before an injury shut him down for a bit, he was pretty much shutdown. Upon returning, he struggled in his first few outings. He’s gotten back on track though.
The left-handed reliever has a 3.98 ERA, .192 BAA, and 1.43 WHIP on the season. That’s an elite BAA. Sure, the ERA and WHIP aren’t great. But both took a big hit when he gave up four runs on two hits and four walks combined in his first two outings (two total innings) returning from injury. He’s tossed two scoreless innings since then.
Nail has 24 strikeouts over 20 1/3 innings this season. The 15 walks are a problem, but again look at his outings returning from injury and you can excuse that. Especially considering he didn’t rehab in lower levels beforehand.
Nail has a fastball that sits in the low-90s with good movement. Meanwhile he has a slider that hovers in the mid-70s and a curveball that hovers in the mid-70s. Both show a lot of break and good rotation when he’s on.
Left-handed relief pitching is always a great thing to have. And Nail looks like a legitimate arm. He’s been great every level in the minors so far, and tends to really rack up the strikeouts. The Red Sox have shown plenty of cracks in the bullpen. So while he’s not an immediate solution, Nail could be an answer for next season.
Keep an eye out for how he pitches in the second-half. Because a hefty majority of his first half was absolute domination.