How did Red Sox pitching prospect Dalton Rogers fare in first full pro season?
Dalton Rodgers was the first pitcher selected by the Red Sox in the 2022 amateur draft. How did the Southern Mississippi product fare in his first professional season last year? Drafted 99th overall and signed for $447,500 last July, Rodgers made his rookie-level debut with the Florida Majors but made just two relief appearances before the end of the 2022 season. The lefty broke camp with Low-A Salem last spring. Rodgers made his full-season debut in the Carolina League at age 22 and had an impressive 2023 season. In six starts for the Red Sox, he posted a 2.49 ERA and 1.99 FIP with 38 strikeouts and 13 walks in 21 1/2 innings while holding opposing hitters to a batting average of .139. Before the schedule changed from May to June, Rodgers was promoted to High-A Greenville. The lefty has a 2.75 ERA in his first four starts with one drive. But after pitching six hitless innings in ’14 and recording his first career double-digit hitting game, he had some struggles that really bothered him for the rest of the season.
From June 21 through the end of the regular season, Rodgers went 1-6 with a 6.51 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 35 walks in 13 starts (55 1/3 innings). Despite these struggles, Rodgers started for Greenville against the Hudson Valley Renegades in the second and final game of the South Atlantic League Championship Series on September 19 at Fluor Field. He allowed just two hits and one run through the first three innings. He walked two and struck out five as the Drive won their second SAL title in franchise history. Overall, Rodgers posted a 5.52 ERA (a much more respectable 4.23 FIP) with 102 strikeouts and 48 walks in 17 starts (75 innings) last season. Among South Atlantic League batters with 70 or more innings in 2023, Rodgers ranked fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.24), sixth in slugging percentage (30.9%), sixth in batting average (.238) and 16th with a .221 average. . Location. According to FanGraphs, he ranks 20th in ground ball percentage (42.3), 20th in swing percentage (13.4), 21st in FIP and 14th in xFIP (4.19). Between Salem and Greenville, Rodgers went 2-7 with a 4.84 ERA (3.73 FIP), 140 strikeouts and 140 walks in 23 starts over 96 2/3 innings. He was one of 11 Red Sox minor leaguers to reach 100 hits last season and was named a MiLB.com All-Star along with right-hander Bickelman Gonzalez and reliever Luis Guerrero. Rodgers, who turned 23 last month, is currently ranked No. 34 in Boston’s farm system by SoxProspects.com, second only to Brandon Walter among left-handed pitchers. The Mississippi native is 6-foot-4, weighs 172 pounds and throws from the three-quarter arm slot. As noted in the SoxProspects.com scouting report, he throws a combination of three pitches: a 91-94 mph fastball, an 81-81 mph changeup, and a 75-80 mph slider. With horizontal rest.
As he prepares for his third professional season in Greenville, it remains to be seen whether Rodgers’ future will be as a starter or a reliever. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, who compiles the Red Sox rankings in American baseball, said in February that the club “will turn Rodgers into a starting pitcher and hope his control improves enough for his incredible mix to shine with true.” I wrote: Go ahead and try. It is a complete possibility. If all this comes together, he could become the fourth starter. “If ball control becomes difficult, Rogers could become a middle-innings hitter with a high strikeout and walk rate,” he said.
Either way, Rodgers could benefit from the new pitching infrastructure the Red Sox have put in place since he was named chief baseball officer. So it wouldn’t be surprising to see Rodgers continue to hit hard as he develops in other areas, eventually finding his way to Double-A Portland in 2024.
