WORCESTER, MA — As the Worcester Red Sox opened their homestand against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, manager Chad Tracy reflected on the team’s recent road trip to Iowa and the infusion of young talent from Double-A Portland.
“Anytime you go on the road and split a series, it’s never a bad thing,” Tracy said. “Playing on the road is certainly not as easy as playing at home, but I thought we played well in a lot of aspects. There were a couple of games we felt like we let get away — the bullpen wasn’t quite as sharp. Maybe four and two was more in reach than what we ended up with. That being said, we swung the bats great, got some good starts, and did a lot of good things. Over the last four or five series, we’ve continued to mostly play good baseball.”
The Red Sox organization recently promoted three of their top pitching prospects to Worcester for the final stretch of the minor league season — Connelly Early, David Sandlin, and Payton Tolle. Tracy said the group is adjusting quickly to Triple-A competition.
“You want to let them get their feet wet and adapt to the level a little bit — get used to the hitters, the caliber of hitter that’s here, and the strike zone, which is very different than in Double-A,” Tracy explained. “From there, you like to see adjustments. Tolle’s second outing was pretty dominant — he was on the throttle from pitch one, 97–98 miles an hour, and turned in a heck of an outing. That’s the kind of progression you want to see, not just from the first start to the second, but continuing forward.”
Tracy also praised the leadership in his clubhouse, noting how the veterans have embraced their new teammates.
“The older guys that have been up and down to the big leagues, they’ve already done that gig. Some have had a taste, some have a lot of service time,” Tracy said. “The things they can offer these kids about what to expect, and what the differences are between Triple-A and the majors, that’s invaluable. It’s a different level — it’s the Big Leagues.”
