Boston Red Sox rumors: Top prospects on the trading block

Hard throwing pitchers

With the big league rotation at least 80 percent set thanks to the presence of Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox fans may not be aware of the plethora of young arms in the pipeline. You can be sure the opposing GMs already know these names, however.

Another former first-round pick, Tanner Houck, as Marc Hulet of Fangraphs puts it, is a “divisive prospect.” Control is a concern after posting a BB/9 of 4.54 in 2018, though he boasts the mid-90s fastball and plus slider to help him wiggle out of jams. He showed enough improvement in the second half of the season that he still projects as a mid-rotation starter with the potential for more.

Lefty Darwinzon Hernandez might have the team’s best raw stuff in the minors, with a fastball that can touch 98. Indeed, he whiffed 134 batters in just 107 IP for an impressive 11.3 K/9. Command and polish are lacking, but he is just 21-years-old and will mostly likely begin next season at Double-A.

A somewhat forgotten name is another lefty, picked 12th overall in 2016, Jay Groome. Groome had Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2018. When healthy Groome’s performance has been similar to Houck’s and Hernandez’s with plenty of both strikeouts and walks. Tommy John surgery isn’t likely to deter a team from having interest in a pitcher once compared to Clayton Kershaw and mentored by Chris Sale.