The Red Sox quietly added a hard-throwing lefty to the pipeline this week
Learn more about PJ Labriola, a big, hard-throwing lefty with the tools to potentially develop into a major-leaguer.
Clemson freshman P.J. Labriola (39) pitches to South Carolina during the top of the fifth inning at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson Tuesday, May 11, 2021.
Syndication: The Greenville NewsEarlier this week, the Boston Red Sox quietly purchased the contract of a left-handed pitcher who got his start in the independent leagues.
As confirmed by the MLB transaction wire, the Red Sox have signed southpaw PJ Labriola to a minor-league contract (credit to Brendan Campbell at Blogging The Red Sox for tipping me off to this). Labriola's ascent to the Red Sox organization was actually announced back on Monday, when the New York Boulders of the Frontier League announced that Boston had purchased Labriola's contract.
Labriola, 24, grew up in Sarasota, Fla. and played college ball at Clemson and NC State. He got his start as a pro in summer league action, before joining the Frederick Keys in the Pioneer League, then most recently the Boulders. Labriola is a big boy, standing at 6-foot-7 and 223 pounds.
The lefty is not coming off a strong performance for New York, having posted a 12.00 ERA over three innings of work in as many appearances, although he did log one save. Labriola previously performed well at a January Pro Day for Tread Athletics, hitting as high as 95.6 mph with his fastball. You can see Labriola in action at the Pro Day at the video below.
“As soon as we started to pursue PJ this winter, we knew that he was a special player, and we also knew that he was very much of the radar of a few different organizations,” Boulders manager TJ Stanton said in a statement. “I could not be happier for PJ and absolutely love getting the opportunity to be a part of these great players’ baseball journeys. Hopefully there will be many more to come!”
As evidenced by his career 5.1 walks per nine innings, Labriola probably has work to do as far as consistently throwing strikes and commanding his pitches. But the size and velocity offer some intrigue. If he can improve his control, he has an outside shot at reaching the major leagues by virtue of simply being a big lefty who can throw in the mid-90s.
Long way to go, but Labriola is a prospect worth watching for the foreseeable future. The Red Sox' left-handed relievers have actually been strong so far this season, as Brennan Bernardino and Justin Wilson have combined for a 1.75 ERA over 36 innings. So, Labriola can be afforded time to see if he can develop into a major league-caliber pitcher.
