The Best Pitcher in the Red Sox System is now Sadbiel Delzine
Photo by Kelly O’Connor
When you dive into what the Red Sox parted with in the Adley Rutschman trade, the pieces were quite big. Enddy Azocar is a solid infield bat, but it’s the pitching that they parted with that sparks the topic of discussion.
Kyson Witherspoon, who fell to them in the draft, was part of the package. He wasn’t a good fit with their pitching infrastructure, but did turn things around once he got to Baltimore. The big prize was Anthony Eyanson, who soared through the Red Sox system and continued that pace when he got into the Orioles system. It was a great way to strengthen the pipeline after the pieces shed off to acquire Shane Baz.
As for the Red Sox, their big league rotation is very much intact. They have stable starters in Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, Payton Tolle, and even the emergence of Jake Bennett. The pipeline now is pretty bare, especially after trading Connelly Early to the Nationals. What this trade has done is buy the Red Sox development time because of the player they potentially believe in, Sadbiel Delzine…
Delzine started his pro career in rookie ball in 2025 with a very brief stint of 9.1 innings. He started the 2026 season in rookie ball and was quite dominant. In 39.2 innings pitched, Sadbiel finished with a 2.72 ERA, struck out 43 batters and walked 18. He hardly got knocked around (.170 batting average against) and his WHIP was a 1.06. You love to see that type of sustained success.
The 18 year old got the luxury of getting promoted to Low-A (Salem), and when he got there he the same success if not better. He pitched 25 innings, giving him a grand total of 64.2 on the season. In those innings, he finished with a 2.52 ERA, struck out 36 batters and walked six. To see his walk rate drop by 5.2% was remarkable as well as his strikeout improving. The on-surface numbers are great, but the under-the-surface stuff helps give you optimism about him moving forward.
The Venezuelan righty throws a ton of strikes, he gets that swing and miss, but notably he saw his o-swing% rise from 24.1% in rookie ball to 27.4% in Low-A. Given the strikeout-to-walk rates, that alone makes him quite the prospect to monitor.
Sadbiel Delzine Arsenal by TJStats
Then you have his arsenal. Four of his pitches have a Stuff+ grade above 100, with his changeup and cutter being the best two of the arsenal. His cutter has the best whiff rate of the bunch, with the slider also playing a key role. Only the four seam fastball and the sinker had a batting average against above .300. There’s plenty to work with here, but this is a guy who has limited damage and a very expanded arsenal. Given his age, the Red Sox have the luxury of patience on their side. Delzine is definitely a prospect worth monitoring and likely taking the next steps next season.