Newly acquired Red Sox pitching prospect was impressive in DSL

14 hours ago 1

Last week, the Boston Red Sox made their second trade of the offseason with the Chicago White Sox, shipping out left-handed reliever Cam Booser for right-handed pitching prospect Yhoiker Fajardo.

Fajardo may be young at just 18 years old and a far way away from the majors, but he was one of the best pitchers in the Dominican Summer League in 2024.

According to FanGraphs, Fajardo ranked first in FIP (2.50) and xFIP (2.33), third in K/9 (11.37), K% (30.2 %) and swinging-strike rate (43.4 %) and fourth in BB/9 (1.42), BB% (3.8 %) and groundball rate (55.6 %) among the 19 pitchers in the DSL who eclipsed 50 innings pitched in 2024.

The Venezuelan prospect appeared in 13 games in the DSL, posting a 3.91 ERA and 1.184 WHIP.

Boston's pitching prospects may not stack up with their top-level bats, but Fajardo is another example of the organization taking a swing on an interesting arm with a ton of upside. Considering Booser is in his early 30s and is just coming off of his rookie season, the Red Sox did well in their return.