May 14, 2014 at 5:06 PM
McGrath up to Greenville, Ball to DL
The Red Sox have announced that Trey Ball (pictured, right) has been placed on the disabled list retroactive to May 10th, and Daniel McGrath will start for Greenville and make his season debut tonight. According to Alex Speier of WEEI.com, Ball is suffering from a case of strep throat.
McGrath, an Australian native, had been in extended spring training after being slowed this spring by tonsillitis. 2013 was the first professional season for the left-hander, and he started in the Gulf Coast League before being promoted to Lowell after 20 innings. Over 33 2/3 innings for Lowell, McGrath had a 4.86 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with 35 strikeouts to 12 walks. Still only 19, McGrath is a work in progress, and time will tell if he is able to add some velocity to his fastball, which currently sits in the 86-89 mph range.
Ball was taken by the Red Sox with the seventh overall pick in last year's draft, and pitched only seven innings after signing. The talented lefty has struggled at Greenville this year, and hits the DL with a 6.59 ERA and 2.05 WHIP with eight strikeouts to five walks over 13 2/3 innings. His upside and potential are what lead to him being selected seventh, and that also has him currently ranked as the 10th ranked prospect on the SoxProspects.com rankings. Fortunately, strep throat should not keep him sidelined for too long.
The Greenville Drive also announced that they have activated right-hander Taylor Grover and sent right-hander Raynel Velette to Lowell.
Photo Credit: Trey Ball by Kelly O'Connor.
Will Woodward is a Staff Writer for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter here.