6/4 ML Gameday Thread: Sea Dogs in the morning

Espinoza certainly isn’t a sleeper. The No. 4 international prospect for the 2014-15 signing period (and top pitcher available), he signed with the Red Sox for $1.8 million last July 2. As an amateur, Espinoza drew rave reviews from scouts for his combination of stuff and feel for pitching beyond his years. He sits in the low-90s fastball up to 94 mph, throws a sharp curveball that projects as a plus pitch and shows feel for a changeup that sits in his long fingers and that he throws with good arm speed.

If there was a knock on the 17-year-old Espinoza, it was his size—he’s listed at 6 feet, 160 pounds—but he had such a loose, quick arm stroke and an easy, simple delivery that scouts were comfortable projecting him to throw in the mid-90s. That projection has already started to bear out, and it may even be light. With natural strength progression, Espinoza has run his fastball up to 97 mph, flashed a hammer low-80s curveball and is even mixing in right-on-right changeups like a major league veteran.

After dominating in Boston’s preseason Dominican camp, Espinoza overpowered hitters in his Dominican Summer League debut this week, with three strikeouts, no walks and only one hit allowed in his three shutout innings. He’s advanced enough that he could pitch in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League this year—and could probably handle an even more aggressive assignment—but the Red Sox are playing it conservatively with their prized young international arm, the likes of which they haven’t had in years