Red Sox Shut Down Pitching Prospect After Eye-Opening Season

Boston Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan opened eyes for a multitude of reasons this season.

The 24-year-old left-handed pitcher seemingly came out of nowhere to make a massive impression during the first month of the campaign with a sensational showing with Double-A Portland. But after an early promotion to Triple-A Worcester, Drohan couldn’t find the same success.

And now Drohan’s season is effectively over after being placed on Worcester’s development list this Tuesday, meaning he won’t appear on the mound again in-game action.

Drohan went 5-0 in six starts with Portland while sporting a minuscule 1.32 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. He struggled across 21 appearances — 19 starts — with Worcester, though, posting a 5-7 record with a 6.47 ERA and 1.87 WHIP.

“I would say (2023 was a season) of growth, development, understanding who he needs to be as a pitcher probably at the upper levels but to eventually make an impact in the big leagues,” Red Sox farm director Brian Abraham told The Boston Globe. “Ultimately, (it was a year of) understanding that there’s another gear, another step that’s needed to be major league depth and be able to do that for an extended period of time.”

Drohan is ranked as the No. 18 prospect in the Red Sox farm system by MLB Pipeline, but there’s only three pitchers ahead of him on the list, all of whom are right-handed.

Drohan tossed 123 innings this season, nearly seven innings less than he pitched in 2022. But perhaps a little lessening of his workload will begin him on the path of figuring things out at the Triple-A level next season.