Boston Red Sox prospects: Taylor Broadway could contribute in 2023
By Hunter Noll
Boston Red Sox new pitching prospect Taylor Broadway could contribute in 2023
The trade that sent Jake Diekman to the Chicago White Sox is already looked upon quite favorably by Boston Red Sox fans. In return for the reliever, Boston picked up catcher Reese McGuire and a player to be named later – who would end up being minor-league reliever Taylor Broadway.
McGuire had an unremarkable career up to that point. Then the left-handed hitter slashed .337/.377/.500 in 36 games (98 at-bats) with the Red Sox. It’s unlikely he continues that type of offensive success, but it was enough to have some fans wondering if he should be the main backstop at the start of the 2023 season.
Broadway meanwhile, wasn’t having the best season between High-A and Double-A. There were some positive signs though. Such as a high strikeout rate (77 strikeouts in 52 innings in 2022 before the trade) and some really nasty-looking stuff. He was giving up homers (8) but hadn’t walked too many (14), so it seemed to be some bad luck and a couple of really rough outings.
Broadway dominated in his short run with the Red Sox Double-A affiliate to close out the year though. The right-handed reliever allowed just one run on two hits and no walks over six innings with the Portland Sea Dogs. He struck out 10 batters in that time and faced the minimum number of hitters in four-of-five appearances.
The 25-year-old has an interesting pitch mix considering he leans heavily on his breaking stuff. By that I mean, he has a so-so fastball that tends to be the pitch getting him hit hard. A nasty curveball and a filthy slider tend to make hitters look foolish, and get Broadway out of a lot of trouble.
It was a small sample size, but Broadway gave Boston a glimpse of his talent and potential. There was a feeling that his stuff was better than the numbers when he joined the organization. His six innings in Portland gave credence to that.
Combined between the two teams, Broadway tossed 55 1/3 innings in Double-A in 2022. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s in Triple-A early in the 2023 season. And that puts him one stop away from the Majors.
The Sox just signed Joely Rodríguez on an incentive-laden one-year deal but should continue to bolster their bullpen. The prospect shouldn’t be penciled in as one of the solutions. However, Broadway could become one of those solutions by mid-season.
Keep an eye out for Broadway in 2023. As the strikeouts pile up, he could make a strong case to make his MLB debut should the Sox bullpen run into any sort of trouble.
