Brock Beauchamp

The Red Sox were lauded for a strong performance during last year's annual amateur player selection process, especially during the first day of the draft. The biggest steal of that day could be argued as any of the three pitchers the Red Sox drafted, however, none stand out more than the first player who fell right into their laps. Drafted 15th overall, Kyson Witherspoon was viewed as a consensus top-10 talent prior to the event. Fortunately for the Red Sox, the right-handed pitcher from Oklahoma State slipped and ended up available right in the middle of the first round. Witherspoon dominated in his final season at Oklahoma to the tune of a 10-4 record and 2.65 ERA in 16 starts. In that span, he threw 95 innings and struck out 124 batters, thanks in part to his velocity and secondary pitches that have scouts drooling over his potential. Witherspoon, who turned 21 in mid-August, made significant strides during his college career and is already implementing some changes in Boston. One of the more notable alterations to his profile was the addition of a sweeper he worked on over the winter with Driveline, and the pitch is already flashing some impressive break. No prospect with the Red Sox averaged close to 20 inches of horizontal break with a sweeper, but Witherspoon’s managed that after one offseason of working on the pitch. The rest of Witherspoon’s arsenal is made up of a fastball, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup. Unlike other pitching targets by the Red Sox, his extension is under six feet (averaged around 5.7 feet). However, he’s able to repeat his delivery easily and hides the ball well throughout his throwing motion. His fastball averaged 95 to 97 mph in college, which he maintained during his first two innings of game action in minor-league spring training. His velocity seems to have improved since being drafted (in terms of maintaining upper-echelon consistency), which will pair well with his strong command. However, the pitch gets its bat-missing ability from its velocity and not its shape. His cutter was used often in college as a pitch he threw for consistent strikes. Velocity-wise, it averaged between 88 and 91 mph, though it's shown an ability to miss bats while also inducing batters to chase outside the zone. Likewise, his slider is a pitch he was able to use to generate whiffs, especially against right-handed batters. Both pitches have plus tendencies and are viewed as being potentially above average. The curveball, on the other hand, is seen as a middling offering, and that's if he learns to consistently land it in the zone. In college, it sat 78 to 82 mph and is considered to have good depth on its break. When he’s able to command and control it he can generate a few whiffs. His changeup is certainly the one that needs the most development (ignoring the new sweeper). The pitch has managed to reach the low-90s, but it was his least used offering in college and lacks the fade/tail to really dominate lefties down and away. Overall, Witherspoon has a chance to join the likes of Payton Tolle and Connolly Early as pitchers who moved through the system quickly. He's got a projectable mid-rotation future, though there's no denying the ace upside occasionally flashing in his profile. His fastball, despite being viewed as his best pitch, could also be in line for some tweaking should the Red Sox want it to have a different shape. Witherspoon, barring a surprise placement, will open the season in Greenville much like Tolle did the year prior. Though, should he dominate High-A batters, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is promoted to Portland by some point in June. The Red Sox have been aggressive the last few years when it comes to promoting prospects that are performing well, and it shouldn’t be any different with the draft class of 2025.

In this week's episode, Nick goes over how things have been for Greenville, Salem, and even the FCL, discussing some standouts such as Franklin Primera and Sadbiel Delzine in the FCL, along with slugger Jack Winnay of the Drive. From the pitching standpoint he once more talks about the young pitchers such as Marcus Phillips, Christian Foutch, Kyson Witherspoon, and Barrett Morgan, and how they've been doing so far in June. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox

Alex and Maddie celebrate Talk Sox’s podcast 50th episode. They kick things off by answering your mailbag questions. (Thank you to everyone who submitted questions!) They unpack the latest drama from Sam Kennedy’s comments on Craig Breslow’s job security to various league sources disclosing their unsavory opinions about the front office. Finally, they check out the newly unveiled All-Star Game voting standings. Unsurprisingly, there’s only one Red Sox player (Willson Contreras) ranked in the top 10 for any American League position. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox

Unlike other publications, Talk Sox enables all users to contribute to our top prospect rankings. Anyone with a Talk Sox account can participate and give their input on who they think should be in the Red Sox top prospects list. Before you vote, you can hit our top prospects page for the latest stats and news on Red Sox prospects, while on the voting page, every name is a clickable link that brings up their current stat card. Voting is simple, just follow the instructions below! Here's the rundown on how to participate: 1. You must have an account and be logged in to vote. If you don't have an account, click here. It requires only 60 seconds to create an account. 2. Review our current top 20 prospect list, catch up on stats, rankings, etc. (you can do so from the voting page link below) 3. Have your prospect list in your filthy little paws? Then flip on over to the new prospect voting page (after reading the rest of this, please). https://talksox.com/prospect-voting 4. Voting is super simple; you drag and drop players in the order you wish them to be. After you move a prospect, the list automatically renumbers so you don't lose track of the order. This works on mobile devices, but it's a *vastly* better experience on desktop. Sorry, that's just how this kind of thing works. There's no excellent way to make something like this as awesome on a phone screen. 5. Each prospect has a comment section where you can add any commentary you have on that player. At the bottom of the list, there is a general comment section to explain over-arching things you'd like to mention. 6. Don't see a prospect you want to put on the list? Just pop back here and give me a mention (in a comment, start typing @Brock Beauchamp and select my name after it appears). Please mention the prospect you would like added, and I will do so as soon as possible. 7. Once you're done with all of it, click Save. You've now voted! 8. When the voting closes, a new thread will automatically generate in the minor league forum with all of your rankings and comments for everyone to read and talk about. 9. You can only vote once. If you have voted in error, pop back here and tag Brock to ask to have your vote deleted. It will be removed, and you can vote again. Voting closes Wednesday, June 17.

As the Minor League Podcast officially hits 10 episodes, Nick accidentally turns this week's episode into a Woosox session as he talks about their four-game winning streak, along with how guys like Braiden Ward and Tsung-Che Cheng have provided value and appear to have broken out of their May slumps. He also breaks down a few Portland pitchers he really likes in Blake Wehunt, Dalton Rogers, and Hayden Mullins. And of course, he can't ignore the optioning of Brayan Bello. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox

Alex and Maddie sit down and recap the recent drama that’s been surrounding the Red Sox. They break down Brayan Bello’s demotion to Triple-A and Craig Breslow’s out-of-touch comments about the situation. They ponder the state of Breslow and Theo Epstein’s relationship. Are they veering towards a friends-to-betrayal-to-enemies-with-benefits type of relationship? Finally, they discuss how ownership (one of John W. Henry, Tom Werner, Sam Kennedy, or Theo Epstein) is reportedly involved with trade talks. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox

How To Install On iPhone or iPad How To Install On Android Device Developing a pure, native app for either Android or iOS is a breathtakingly expensive endeavor, which is why we haven’t done it, despite so many requests over the years. Thankfully, technology has met us halfway, and PWAs (Progressive Web Applications) have reached maturity in the marketplace. What is a PWA? It’s effectively a pseudo-app that works much like a native application but doesn’t require tens of thousands of dollars in development to produce. It creates a single browser instance and maintains it as if it were an application. It’s basically a standalone browser tab, dedicated specifically to Talk Sox. From this app instance, you can receive notifications; the typical browser interface is removed, and the site is presented clearly, using as much screen real estate as possible, all without sacrificing any functionality. The site is faster, more reliable, and offers more mobile functionality than a standard web browser. Additionally, a newer, completely updated Talk Sox is coming later this year, and that will add even more app-like features, making PWA usage even better for all our users. With that said, here’s how you turn Talk Sox into an app on your mobile device. How To “Install” Talk Sox on iPhone or iPad Using Safari First, go to the home page of Talk Sox at https://talksox.com/. 1. Tap on the ellipses (…) at bottom right of screen. 2. Tap “Share” in pop-up menu. 3. Tap “View More”. 4. Tap “Add To Home Screen”. 5. Tap “Add”. That takes you to your home screen on iOS, where you can move the Talk Sox app around, just as you would any other app. Additionally, you can turn on notifications for them. Just go to the following link while logged into the site: https://talksox.com/notifications/options/. How To “Install” Talk Sox on an Android Device Using Chrome First, go to the home page of Talk Sox at https://talksox.com/. 1. Tap on the vertical ellipses (…) at top right of screen. 2. Tap “Share…” in pop-up menu. 3. Tap “Add to Home Screen”. 4. Tap “Install”. That takes you to your home screen on Android, where you can move the Talk Sox app around, just as you would any other app. Additionally, you can turn on notifications for the site. Just go to the following link while logged into the site: https://talksox.com/notifications/options/.