Unheralded Red Sox Pitching Prospect Appears To be Star In The Making
The Boston Red Sox farm system has struggled to produce quality starting pitchers this century but appears to have a budding star on the rise.
Left-handed pitcher Shane Drohan -- Boston's No. 29 prospect according to MLB Pipeline -- has made mincemeat of his Double-A opposition thus far after retooling his game in the offseason.
Drohan is 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA (two total runs allowed), 26-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .163 batting average against and 0.74 WHIP in 23 innings across four starts for the Portland Sea Dogs.
The young hurler went 7-8 with a 3.89 ERA, 157-to-51 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .227 batting average against and 1.26 WHIP in 129 2/3 innings between High-A Salem and Double-A Portland last season. He's since put in the work to look like a whole new pitcher.
The 24-year-old gained 14 pounds in the offseason by eating a lot of eggs and "almost a steak or two a day." His commitment to lifting and being in a caloric surplus resulted in a spike in velocity. After sitting in the low 90s last season, the southpaw can run it up to 95 mph and sits in the 93-94 mph range.
He's also improved his changeup and added an effective cutter. It's incredible how much he accomplished in just one offseason, which bodes very well for his future.
Drohan will almost undoubtedly shoot up the farm system rankings throughout the season in a similar fashion as Ceddanne Rafaela a season ago.
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