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Red Sox prospect, ‘a big guy,’ reaches 97.4 mph, K’s 5 in dominant WBC start for Puerto Rico
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- Red Sox prospect, ‘a big guy,’ reaches 97.4 mph, K’s 5 in dominant WBC start for Puerto Rico
Red Sox 22-year-old pitching prospect Eduardo Rivera allowed just one run on one hit and one walk in 4 ⅓ innings for Puerto Rico on Saturday.
Puerto Rico beat Panama 5-4 in 10 innings in a World Baseball Classic pool play game.
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Rivera struck out five and reached 97.4 mph with his fastball twice. Thirty-eight of his 56 pitches (68%) were four-seam fastballs. He averaged 95.2 mph with it.
The 6-foot-7 lefty also mixed in eight changeups, seven sinkers and three sliders. He recorded nine swings-and-misses.
Boston signed him in June 2024 after the Athletics released him .
Minor league catcher Ronald Rosario discussed several pitching prospects, including Rivera, in Wednesday's MassLive Red Sox minor league notebook . Rosario caught Rivera at Double-A Portland in 2025.
"He's a big guy," Rosario said about Rivera. "He throws a lot of pitches. I also think he has good extension. I do think he needs to trust a little bit more his pitches because his stuff is very good. And I think pitching for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic is going to help him to do that. So I feel like I think that's where he needs to improve and have more confidence in his stuff."
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Rivera posted a 2.48 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 20 outings (15 starts) at High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland in 2025. He had a 29.7% strikeout percentage and held opponents to a .177 batting average against.
Athletics' Darell Hernaiz blasted a 374-foot walkoff homer in the 10th inning to give Puerto Rico the win.
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