Boston Red Sox top-30 prospect rankings after 2022 MiLB season
By Hunter Noll
No. 28: Red Sox starting pitching prospect Shane Drohan
Shane Drohan had a strong debut season in 2021 pitching in Low-A. He improved in nearly every category in 2022, despite spending the year in High-A and Double-A.
The left-handed pitcher posted a 3.89 ERA, .227 BAA, and 1.26 WHIP between the two levels. In 129 2/3 innings, he struck out 157 batters compared to 51 walks. Drohan had an issue with home runs, allowing 20. But he had a pretty low BAA and the constant strikeouts helped to limit any potential damage.
The 23-year-old has an interesting pitch mix. There’s a fastball that sits in the low-90s. Not the fastest, but there’s a ton of movement to it. He’ll show the ability to dot it as well. That, mixed with the great life, help the pitch work. If he can add a few more MPH this is going to be a dangerous pitch.
Next is a curveball with a classic break to it. Drohan seems to have a really good feel for this pitch. It has a strong break and tons of spin while sitting in the mid-to-high-70s. He doesn’t seem afraid to throw it at any time and for good reason. This might be the pitch he has the most command over. Rarely loses it, and gets a lot of bad swings.
Finally, there’s a changeup that works in the high-70s to low-80s. The issue here is consistency. At its best, the changeup shows a nice late drop to it. Combining that with the deception of the pitch looking like his fastball out of the hand causes some really ugly swings at times. However, other times the pitch seems really flat and can get smacked around. If he can work on that, this could be a great secondary pitch though.
Overall, Drohan is still a work in progress. But he’s a work in progress that already shows flashes of greatness. His ability to miss bats is impressive, especially with the curveball being the only pitch that feels complete (although it could still improve as well). It will be interesting to see where he is in the rankings next year, as there’s potential for a big jump if things go right.
Fastball: 55
Curveball: 65
Changeup: 50
Control: 50
Overall: 55