July 31, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Jack Winnay making strides with increased bat speed
Winnay was selected in the 13th round of the 2025 MLB Draft by Boston out of Wake Forest. A native of Newton and former graduate of Belmont Hill High School, the 23-year-old has noted it has been "a dream come true" playing for his hometown team.
"It is a pretty surreal feeling," Winnay said of playing in the Red Sox organization. "I truly do feel pretty blessed every time I get to put that jersey on. I always look at myself in the mirror and think how cool that is. I am so grateful for it because I watched a million Red Sox games growing up. I have been to Fenway for World Series games. It has been everything I thought it would be and more."
When the Massachusetts native was drafted last summer, his calling card was his above-average raw power and solid contact skills he displayed while in college. He picked up right where he left off after the draft and showed a similar approach in Salem last year.
Winnay was assigned to Greenville out of spring training, and initially struggled with the adjustment. He finished April with a .644 OPS and only one home run over 21 games due to a few offseason changes that took some getting used to.
"The biggest change for Jack has been his increase in bat speed," Red Sox Director of Hitting Development Jason Ochart noted. "As an amateur at Wake Forest, Jack showed a really strong combo of bat-to-ball skills, swing decisions, and ball flight. The missing piece was the bat speed, and that was the major focus for him this offseason. Oftentimes, when hitters increase their bat speed or make swing changes in the offseason, there is an adjustment period once they get into games. I credit his slow start to him recalibrating to hitting with a faster swing. For context, his hardest hit ball last year was 106 mph and this year he’s hit the ball over 110 mph."
The slow start did not linger into May, as Winnay has not posted an OPS under .900 in a month since and has hit 14 home runs since. He also drew more walks than he did strike out in May and June, which is a positive sign the plate approach is coming along in pro ball.
"A lot of people falsely assume that increasing bat speed will ultimately come at the expense of things like swing decisions or bat-to-ball skills," Ochart said. "However, that is not usually the case. Jack has improved his bat speed while maintaining or improving those aspects of his game that were already very strong. His strong zone contact rates and chase rates have stayed steady year over year while competing at a higher level. He is still driving the ball in the air at a really high clip. On top of that, Jack is a hitting rat. He is a student of the game, and he works really hard on his approach. He’s really learning how to control his ABs, attack certain pitches, and develop his game plan against each opposing pitcher. I’ve often found these types of hitters to transition well as they move up levels, as opposing pitchers and catchers are more deliberate about game planning and the chess match between hitter and pitcher is more important."
With the success shown so far in 2026 that has seen him rise up the prospect rankings, Winnay has found himself in Double-A in his first full professional season. Now being only two phone calls away from the majors, what does the future look like as we go forward?
"Jack is a very professional hitter with a really well-rounded set of skills," Ochart added. "He’s going to give you quality at-bats, walk at a high rate, and put balls in play. He also pulls the ball in the air very often, which is an offensive superpower, especially as a right-handed hitter at Fenway Park. There is a high offensive bar to clear to play a corner spot in the big leagues, and we believe Jack can get there if he keeps improving his bat speed and doing damage. The org is really excited about his development and his performance this season."
Photo Credit: Jack Winnay by Kelly O'Connor