FORT MYERS, Fla. — Technically, it is not a Grapefruit League game, but the Red Sox will first take the field to play a game this Saturday afternoon. The man throwing their first pitch of the spring will be right-hander Kyle Weiland.
“That’s a very big honor and I’m extremely excited about it. I’m looking forward to it,” said Weiland, who is in big-league camp for the second time.
He knows the game won’t count in the standings or make or break his career, but just leading things off for the organization has a special feel to it.
“It’s the first one of the year, which is just exciting,” he said.
Weiland, 24, was 5-9 with a 4.42 ERA at Double-A Portland in 2010 and led the Sea Dogs with 120 strikeouts. He was drafted in the third round in 2008 out of Notre Dame, where former BC head coach, Mik Aoki, is now calling the shots.
Stolmy Pimentel, a big 21-year-old considered to be on the best prospects in the system, will start against Northeastern on Saturday night.
