The Boston Red Sox’s farm system isn’t exactly known for its wealth of pitching prospects.
Yordanny Monegro’s tremendous start this season with Double-A Portland could help to change that narrative, though.
The 22-year-old righthander has gone to another level in his first go-around with Portland. And what’s catching the most attention when it comes to Monegro is his eye-popping strikeout numbers.
Monegro has struck out 47 batters in 26 innings, good for an elite 16.06 strikeout-per-nine. Monegro’s last start, which came Tuesday, was arguably one of the best of his career with him striking out 10 across five innings while allowing no runs and three hits.
The Dominican Republic native also has a nine-strikeout outing under his belt — which surprisingly came in four innings of relief — and fanned seven batters twice in starts.
“This is the best version of Monegro we have seen, from his work and preparation to execution of his plan,” Red Sox director of pitching Justin Willard texted The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Monegro signed with the Red Sox in February 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he didn’t pitch stateside for the organization until 2022.
The 6-foot-4, 180-pound righty finally took off in 2023, pitching for three levels in Boston’s minor league system but never making it past High-A Greenville. He continued to blossom last season and even went 41 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
Monegro’s best pitch is his cutter, while he also utilizes a mid-90s fastball to go along with an effective curveball and splitter.
MLB Pipeline viewed Monegro as the 23rd-best prospect in the Red Sox farm system, but that ranking could dramatically improve with how well Monegro has pitched this year.