Boston Red Sox pitching prospect Pat Light is a big guy, and throws like one, too. Light stands at about 6’5” or 6’6”, and his fastball can, and does, touch triple digits on the radar gun. The notion within the organization is that the right-hander represents their future closer. Of course, everyone knew Light wasn’t taking the job this year; the Sox acquired All-Star Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres to lock down the ninth.
Even still, Light received an invite to Spring Training, and with it came the possibility of making the team as a setup man. However, when the Red Sox announced their first round of cuts on Tuesday, one name stood out among the rest: Pat Light. He will head back to Triple-A Pawtucket, where he spent half of the 2015 season.
Before we get into his future with Boston, let’s get through a quick breakdown of Light. The 24-year old flamethrower was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2012 draft out of Monmouth University. According to SoxProspects.com, Light is sixteenth-best prospect in the Sox minor league system. Light began his career as a starter, but was converted to a full time reliever at the beginning of the 2015 season. He used to feature a four-pitch arsenal, which included a since-abandoned change-up and a similarily-scrapped slider. The two pitches that remain are his signature fastball and a splitter, both of which show plus or better potential.
There’s little question that Light has the raw stuff to succeed as a major league relief pitcher. But overpowering velocity alone isn’t enough. Light’s problem is his command. His inability to locate his pitches consistently played a large role in his move to the bullpen. And he took to the change. Pitching between Double-A and Triple-A as a reliever last season, Light recorded a 3.88 ERA, almost a full run lower than his 4.83 ERA as a starter at the Single-A level in 2014.
While it is worthwhile from to note that Light’s ERA rose considerably when promoted to Pawtucket, some amount of growing pains are to be expected with that kind of jump in competition. Upon closer inspection, that seems to be exactly what happened. Light gave up eleven earned runs across his first eleven appearances, a total of 11.1 innings, with the PawSox. In his final fifteen appearances (20.1 innings), Lights allowed just eight earned runs. Still not great, but clearly indicative of improvement and a greater comfort level.
However, Light still struggled with his command. Though he found the role of reliever suited him, he still issued an ugly thirty-seven walks in only 62.2 innings last season. Even his stellar 9.6 K/9 could do little to hide his 5.3 BB/9 and his 7.0 hits-per-nine. He just wasn’t hitting the strikezone consistently. When he did manage to find it, he often found the wrong parts of it.
But here’s the thing: Light is still young, and he’s still new to his bullpen role. This will be just his second full season as a reliever, and his brief stint with Boston was just his first taste of Spring Training. He allowed two walks in 5.2 innings before being cut. He needs to work on his command, and he probably knows it.
There’s no doubt Light is improving as a pitcher. Over his final four appearances with Pawtucket, he didn’t issue a single walk. He had more outings at Triple-A without a walk issued (sixteen) than he did in which he put guys on (ten).
If Light can continue to improve, he could be up with Boston later this year. He might not have been cut at all if the Sox had a greater need for relievers. But the presences of Kimbrel, Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, and Carson Smith give the Red Sox the luxury of bringing Light along slowly. The Pat Light era is still coming. It’s just going to take its time.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via Baseball-Reference.com
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