Boston Red Sox relief pitching prospect Ryan Fernandez
It stands to reason that if a team takes a pitcher in the Rule 5 Draft, they'll likely, at the very least, start the year in the bullpen. If they were ready to be full-time starters in the Majors, it's hard to imagine their original team wouldn't have held on to them somehow.
That might give Ryan Fernandez an advantage (or disadvantage if you're looking at it from Boston's perspective). A time might find him extra enticing as he's already a proven reliever in the minor leagues. They know he can make it work out of the bullpen.
The right-handed reliever posted a 4.14 ERA, .254 BAA, and 1.31 WHIP between Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. He struck out 67 batters compared to 18 walks in 54 1/3 innings.
Fernandez was lights-out in Single-A and Double-A. Meanwhile, he was impressive in Triple-A outside of two rough performances.
I also got the privilege of seeing him live a few times. Between Fernandez, Luis Guerrero, and Christopher Troye, I don't understand how anyone got a hit off of Portland's bullpen in 2023. Those three look like cheat codes on the mound when you're there live.
Fernandez is only 25 and has now had experience in Triple-A. While his numbers at the level don't look particularly exciting, he was impressive for the most part. It's hard to go off of stats with relievers because one or two bad outings blow up their ERA, WHIP, and all that fun stuff.
A lot of people would tell you that Ryan Fernandez could help the Red Sox this season and has a shot to make the Opening Day roster. It's hard to imagine the other 29 teams not thinking he could make an impact in their bullpen, as well.