The Red Sox promoted top pitching prospect Brayan Bello and Andrew Politi to Triple-A Worcester. The Red Sox also demoted Kyle Hart and Darin Gillies to Double-A Portland. Bello will make his Triple-A debut on May 18th. Politi made his Worcester debut on May 17th: a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.
Red Sox Prospect Brayan Bello Speeding Through the System
Brayan Bello, 23, signed with the Red Sox in July 2017 at 18 years old. Bello made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2018 (13 starts, 1.68 ERA), and the Red Sox promoted him to what is now the Florida Complex League that August, where he made one appearance. Bello started his second pro season in 2019 in High-A Greenville, pitching to a 5.89 ERA in 117.2 innings over 25 starts. The Dominican native struggled in the first half of that season (8.03 ERA in 12 starts) but rebounded in the second half (3.31 ERA over 13 starts).
Over six starts in Greenville in 2021 before his promotion to Double-A Portland, Bello had a 2.27 ERA over 31.2 innings. In 15 starts at Portland, Bello pitched to a 4.66 ERA over 63.2 innings. He was selected to the MLB All-Stars Futures Game last summer. MLB Pipeline and soxprospects.com rank him the Red Sox’s fourth-best prospect. Baseball Prospectus ranks him the fifth-best prospect in the Red Sox system. Baseball America ranks him fourth in the Sox system and 83rd on their top 100 list.
Brayan Bello, Andrew Politi Dominated Double-A
The Red Sox’s top pitching prospect, Brayan Bello, had a 1.60 ERA in 33.2 innings with Portland in 2022. Bello pitched a no-hitter and at one point had 13 consecutive no-hit innings. He was third in the Eastern League in ERA, ninth in innings pitched, seventh in strikeouts, second in WHIP (.83), and first in opponent average (.138).
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Andrew Politi made his pro debut the same year he was drafted (2018). He had a 4.34 ERA in 21 games for the Lowell Spinners. The Red Sox promoted him to Salem in 2019 (3.55 ERA, 96 strikeouts in 78.2 innings) and Portland in 2021 (6.36 ERA, 89 strikeouts in 75 innings). Politi made 20 starts between Salem and Portland. Politi was dominant in Portland in 2022. Over 13.1 innings, Politi had a 2.03 ERA with 20 strikeouts and three walks. He had four saves in four opportunities. Soxprospects.com ranks the 25-year-old right-handed pitcher as the Red Sox’s 54th ranked prospect.
Kyle Hart, Darin Gillies Struggling at Triple-A
Kyle Hart, the Red Sox’s 19th-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, struggled at Triple-A Worcester in 2022. Over seven games, Hart had a 5.88 ERA. The left-handed pitcher allowed 25 hits and five home runs with 26 strikeouts in 26 innings. Kyle Hart spent four games with the Red Sox during the 2020 60-game season (15.55 ERA). Darin Gillies has spent time in both Portland and Worcester in 2022. Gillies has a 16.39 ERA over ten games between both levels. The Red Sox signed Gillies to a minor league deal in March after the right-handed pitcher had a 2.80 ERA in 45 innings between the Seattle Mariners’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2021.
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