Red Sox pitching prospect Richard Fitts flirts with perfection in his latest start for…….

Red Sox pitching prospect Richard Fitts flirts with perfection in his latest start for Triple-A Worcester.

Richard Fitts, a Red Sox pitching prospect, flirted with perfection in his latest start for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday night.

Fitts went seven clean innings against the Charlotte Knights on the road at Truist Field, retiring the first 21 hitters he faced before giving up a leadoff single to Oscar Colas in the eighth. The right-hander was then relieved by lefty Lucas Luetge, who allowed Colas and another runner to score on shortstop Nick Sogard’s two-out throwing error.

As a result, neither Fitts nor Luetge were charged with earned runs. Instead, Fitts finished the night with one unearned run on one hit and zero walks, as well as seven strikeouts in seven-plus innings of dominating pitching. The 24-year-old threw 82 pitches (65 strikes), resulting in 15 swings and misses. According to Baseball Savant, he averaged 94.4 mph and reached 96.3 mph with his four-seam fastball, while also using a mid-80s slider and changeup.

Fitts ultimately earned the win on Wednesday, as the WooSox defeated the Knights 5-2 to end a six-game losing streak. This season, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound pitcher is 4-1 with a 3.72 ERA and 41 strikeouts to 15 walks in ten appearances (nine starts) totaling 48 1/3 innings for Worcester. Opposing batters are hitting.246 against him.

Fitts ranks ninth in walks per nine innings (2.79), 10th in walk rate (7.4 percent), seventh in batting average against, eighth in WHIP (1.22), 13th in swinging strike rate (11.7 percent), seventh in ERA, and third in FIP (3.65), according to FanGraphs.

Fitts, one of three pitchers acquired from the Yankees in last December’s Alex Verdugo trade, is presently ranked as Baseball America’s No. 7 prospect in the Red Sox farm system. This ranks second in the organization among pitchers, trailing only fellow righty Wikelman Gonzalez.

The Yankees originally selected Fitts in the sixth round of the 2021 amateur draft out of Auburn. The next March, the Alabama native signed with New York for $346,800, and made his professional debut in the Florida State League. He won the 2023 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year award after compiling a 3.48 ERA in 27 starts (152 2/3 innings) at Double-A Somerset previous season.

Fitts was at a facility Christmas party at Tinsley Performance in Pelham, Alabama, when he was traded from New York to Boston with Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice last winter. Garrett Whitlock and Cooper Criswell, who eventually signed with the Red Sox as free agents, were also present. The three righties spent the rest of the offseason throwing together before heading to spring training.

Unlike Whitlock and Criswell, Fitts did not attend major league camp in Fort Myers and is not officially on Boston’s 40-man roster. Having said that, Fitts can become Rule 5 eligible for the first time later this year, which means he would need to be added to the 40-man roster by the November protection deadline if the Red Sox

Fitts, who will not be 25 until December, might be added to the 40-man roster earlier if he makes his major league debut later this season. That is a real possibility if a starter is needed, as he is one of the Red Sox’s best rotation depth alternatives in Worcester.