Shane Drohan already has shown so much improvement this season that he might now be the Boston Red Sox's top pitching prospect.
That development is reflected in the updated prospect rankings released last week by SoxProspects.com, with Drohan going from No. 12 in the organization to No. 5. Only Marcelo Mayer, Miguel Bleis, Ceddanne Rafaela and Nick Yorke -- four well-regarded position players -- ranked higher.
Bryan Mata had been considered Boston's top pitching prospect, according to SoxProspect.com's rankings, but he dropped to No. 6 overall, one spot behind Drohan, and since has landed on the seven-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Drohan, meanwhile, is coming off an impressive April in which he was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Month for his dominance with Double-A Portland.
Drohan, a fifth-round selection in the pandemic-condensed 2020 Major League Baseball Draft, entered Wednesday with a 5-0 record and 0.62 ERA through five starts (29 innings) with the Sea Dogs this season. He struck out 30, walked six and posted a 0.69 WHIP.
"He turned a lot of heads in spring training," Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom recently told MassLive. "He's always been a really interesting athlete with good feel to pitch. And he comes into spring training not only with a better arsenal in terms of having adjusted a few things movement-wise on his pitches, but also just stronger and throwing harder. And that's a credit to the work he has put in and especially over this last winter."
SoxProspects.com describes Drohan as a "potential back-end starter" with the "ceiling of a mid-rotation starter," while acknowledging that projection "might be light" given the potential for him to take another step forward with his stuff. The 24-year-old left-hander, who's listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, bulked up over the offseason and now flashes "four average-or-better pitches and a solid command and control profile," per SoxProspects.com. He added a cutter to his repertoire, which also includes a changeup, a curveball and a fastball that sits around 92-94 mph.
Of course, five starts to open the 2023 campaign -- giving him 10 total starts at Double-A -- is a small sample size. And there's still room for the Florida State product to improve before reaching the majors. But Drohan certainly is on an upward trajectory that few experts saw coming, evident by MLB Pipeline ranking him the No. 29 prospect in the Red Sox farm system before this season.
