Is Richard Fitts Emerging?
Mandatory Photo Credit: Maddie Malhortra / Boston Red Sox / Getty Images
As someone who loves the grind of 162, I’ve always struggled with Spring Training. Results are never guaranteed to transfer into the regular season once the games actually matter. However, I think changes in what goes on under the hood with some of these players is relevant and is worth discussing.
One player that has caught my eye early on in the Spring is Richard Fitts. The right-handed pitcher that the Red Sox acquired from the New York Yankees in the Alex Verdugo trade has made some significant improvements from what we saw last season.
Last year Fitts spent most of the season in AAA. Fitts made 23 starts and had a 4.17 ERA with an 8.56 K/9 in 116 innings. His performance earned him a September callup and Fitts made the most of his time in the big leagues. In 4 starts Fitts had a 1.74 ERA in 20 innings giving himself a shot at a rotation spot in 2025. Although Fitts was really good in those 4 starts, it is difficult to imagine him repeating what he did. Fitts’ K/9 was extremely low for a big league starter (3.92 K/9). And while I can be intrigued by someone who can limit hard contact and just get outs, it would be great if the data suggested that Fitts could continue to get big league hitters out.
Fitts clearly identified a few things to work on over the offseason as he has come into Spring Training with a much different arsenal. The velocity could take Fitts’ game to another level.
In his 2 inning against the Phillies Fitts touched 98 MPH and even hit 99 MPH once, which is something he was not doing at the end of last season as a starter. The increased velocity led to Fitts getting a lot of swings and misses against the majority of the Phillies starters.
The increase in stuff was supported by his Stuff+ for the two innings. The sweeper had a Stuff+ of 118 and the slider had a Stuff+ of 109. Now, it’s important to point out that Fitts only threw 36 pitches in the two innings of work and he only threw his 4-Seam fastball 22% of the time. If Fitts is going to be a starter, that usage is not sustainable. However, his performance against the Phillies is a sign that Fitts has the ability to elevate his stuff when he is in a short outing.
It will be interesting to see exactly how the Red Sox decide to utilize Fitts. Boston has two starters in AAA in Quinn Priester and Cooper Criswell and eventually they will have 6 options in the big league rotation when Kutter Crawford comes back healthy. Fitts could be the third depth option in AAA. However, if Alex Cora and Andrew Bailey see an opportunity to maximize Fitts’ arsenal, he could be a key piece in the bullpen at the start of the season. A decision may depend on how well Fitts can maintain his stuff as he continues to get stretched out. Can he keep his velocity in the upper 90s along with the breaking pitchers or will it come back to where we saw it last year as fatigue starts to settle in?
The development of Richard Fitts is something I am very intrigued to watch over the final couple of weeks of Spring Training. At the very least, it’s a great example of what this new pitching program led by Andrew Bailey can do for pitchers and being able to maximize their arsenals. Keep an eye on Richard Fitts over the next 23 days.