Two years ago, the Boston Red Sox saw a pitcher in the minor leagues emerge over the first two months of the season into one of the best prospects in baseball. Shane Drohan posted a 1.32 ERA, .161 BAA, and 0.82 WHIP in six starts for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs.
However, following a promotion to Triple-A, the plot was lost. The left-handed pitcher posted a 6.47 ERA with Worcester the rest of the season. The Chicago White Sox brought Drohan in from the Rule 5 draft that offseason.
Drohan only threw 16 1/3 innings in 2024 due to injury. He posted a 7.71 ERA in that time. Of those 16 1/3 innings, seven came with the Red Sox organization. He was returned after the White Sox failed to add him to their Major League roster.
The left-hander went from one of the top prospects in Boston's organization to a returned item in less than two years.
Could Shane Drohan turn back into a legitimate pitching prospect for the Boston Red Sox?
Something seemed to click this spring, though. Drohan's velocity was up, he was missing bats, and he wasn't walking batters. He was recovering from shoulder surgery last year. Were all the struggles down to injury issues?
In his first Triple-A appearance of 2025, Drohan dominated. The lefty didn't allow a run on just one hit in two innings. He struck out two batters and only walked one.
Shane Drohan filthy changeup gets his second strikeout of a 1-2-3 inning.
— Hunter Noll (@Hunter_Noll) March 30, 2025
He might be back, folks. pic.twitter.com/hnM0tbQCRm
Drohan hit 94.7 MPH with his fastball and showed off great off-speed stuff. In his first appearance of the season, he picked up his first win in the organization since September 12, 2023.
It's just one game and two innings. However, Drohan has done a lot to establish himself as a legitimate pitching prospect once again. Maybe we won't get the middle-of-the-order guy we were hoping for in 2024, but why not a left-handed reliever? You can never have too many of those.