Pitching prospect Richard Fitts of the Red Sox performed admirably in his last spring outing on Tuesday afternoon.
In the Sox’s exhibition game versus the Rangers at Globe Life Field, Fitts earned the start. Despite facing numerous big-league regulars, the right-hander held his own, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out three in three and a third scoreless innings of work in a victory-filled outing.
Fitts did deal with some traffic on the base paths, but he kept Texas off the scoreboard. Marcus Semien got a leadoff single from the 24-year-old in the first inning, but he was stranded at first. Subsequently, he maneuvered around a leadoff walk drawn by Leody Taveras in the third and a one-out double from top Rangers prospect Wyatt Langford in the second.
Taveras and Langford both reached third base, but were unable to continue. Fitts retired the lone batter he saw in the bottom half of the fourth after the Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the top of the inning by striking ALCS MVP-in-reign Adolis Garcia on six pitches. After that, manager Alex Cora utilized seven bullpen arms, starting with Isaiah Campbell, to relieve him. Boston went on to defeat Texas 4-1.
Fitts, who finished with 54 pitches (33 strikes) and a game-high seven whiffs, was given credit for making the winning call. According to Baseball Savant, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound righty averaged 93.9 mph and peaked at 95.8 mph with his heater. He threw 25 sliders, 20 four-seam fastballs, and nine changeups.
Fitts is presently ranked by Baseball America as the No. 11 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks third among arms in the organization behind only Wikelman Gonzalez and Luis Perales.
Fitts was one of three pitchers acquired from the Yankees in the December transaction that sent Alex Verdugo to New York. The Alabama native is coming off of a 2023 season in which he produced a 3.48 ERA (3.92 FIP) with 163 strikeouts to 43 walks across 27 starts (152 2/3 innings) for New York’s Double-A club. The Yankees originally drafted him out of Auburn in the sixth round of the 2021 amateur draft.
Fitts, along with Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice, was traded to the Red Sox shortly after winning Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. Fitts participated in the team’s rookie development program back in January and pitched three innings of relief for Boston in its first-ever Spring Breakout game against the Braves at JetBlue Park earlier this month. Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and Co. identified Fitts as someone who could strengthen an area of need in the minor-league pipeline.
Fitts will report to Triple-A Worcester and begin the 2024 season in the WooSox’ starting lineup after making his first-ever big-league spring training start. When Worcester completes a three-game weekend series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown this Sunday, it might mark his first start of the season.
At this point in time, it remains to be seen if Fitts — who does not turn 25 until December — will be able to stick as a starter or ultimately move to the bullpen in the long run. He can nevertheless become Rule 5-eligible for the first time later this year, meaning the Red Sox would need to add him to their 40-man roster by the protection deadline in November in order to prevent that from happening.
Fitts may make his major-league debut this season, though, based on his early returns and how the Red Sox play out the situation. It will be interesting to watch how he performs right away with the WooSox.
