Richard Fitts Experimenting Pitches For Best Red Sox Chance

Richard Fitts joined the Boston Red Sox this offseason as an intriguing minor league arm with upside.

The right-hander was one of three pitchers traded from the New York Yankees to the Red Sox in December in exchange for Alex Verdugo.

Fitts got a chance to show Boston more of his potential during Saturday’s “Spring Breakout” game against prospects for the Atlanta Braves. Despite allowing two runs, the 24-year-old worked three solid innings with a trio of strikeouts.

Fitts had previously built his stock with a quality fastball-slider combination. After his outing, Fitts told NESN’s Tom Caron on the broadcast that he had been working on a new changeup with a different life than the one he had in the past. Such changes under Boston’s new pitching program could bring the best out of a solid young arm.

Fitts enters the season as the reigning Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. Last season, the right-hander started in the Yankees’ farm system and won 11 games with a 3.48 ERA. The right-hander also worked efficiently, with 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.5 walks per nine innings.

If Fitts can grow his pitch mix and pump strikes, his innings could be needed in Boston this season.