RADIO
Brusdar Graterol 2020 Outlook: Lots of strikeouts, ground balls
5 years agoAs part of the Mookie Betts three-way trade between the Red Sox, Twins and Dodgers, rookie pitcher Brusdar Graterol will enter the 2020 season in Boston's organization. It's a great move for him and he moves from an organization rich in pitching prospects to one with an obvious void. Injuries took a big chunk out of his 2019 season but he still reached the Majors and contributed to the bullpen late in the season. His long-term role is to likely be in the starting rotation, especially now that he's in Boston, where he features four pitches with at least two likely to grade out as plus, including a fastball in the 95-98 mph range. Despite standing just around six-feet tall, Graterol has a very heavy ball that induces ground balls at a well-above-average rate which helps him avoid the long ball. There is some concern that the burly pitcher will end up as a reliever due to conditioning concerns as well as his history with injuries; he’s thrown more than 100 innings just once in his five-year pro career. With less than 15 innings of experience above Double-A, Graterol likely isn’t ready for a full-time gig in the Majors just yet but he’s not far off and he has the stuff to provide lots of strikeouts and lower-than-average hit totals.
