The Red Sox have a new flame-throwing reliever. He just can’t control those flames.
Who is he and where did he come from?
He’s Alex Speas and he comes from the delightfully named Powder Springs, Georgia. Despite having a population roughly equal to that of Duxbury, Powder Springs has become something of a wellspring of elite athletes in recent years, having produced four NFL players since 2015 and a member of the US Mens National Soccer Team. With respect to baseball, it’s also the hometown of former super-prospect-turned-bust Taylor Trammell.
What position does he play?
He’s a right-handed middle relief pitcher. Unless you can throw 100 MPH, that’s pretty much the most boring of all baseball positions.
Is he any good?
Well, guess what? Alex Speas can throw 100 MPH!
Speas’ big frame and lively arm made him one of the top high school pitchers in the country back in 2016, when the Texas Rangers drafted him in the second round. Though he entered pro ball as a starter, he was shifted to the bullpen in A-ball, where he began producing eye-popping strikeout numbers — eye-popping as in 15.4 strikeouts-per-nine with a 2.20 ERA in 2018. Unfortunately he tore his UCL in that 2018 season and, just three months after undergoing Tommy John surgery, he broke his femur. Thanks to the injuries and the pandemic, he pitched just one inning of organized baseball over the next two seasons. The strikeouts were still there when he finally returned to the mound in 2021. But so were the walks. . . lots, and lots of walks. Speas walked an astonishingly ugly 21 hitters in just 12 innings in his first stint in AA ball in 2021.
But the walks weren’t the worst thing happening in Speas’ life in 2021. He suffered a mental health crisis that year and lost all joy for the game, sometimes going the entire day without exchanging a single word with his teammates or coaches. As spring training approached the following year, Speas realized he hadn’t worked out or picked up a ball all winter. He accepted that he had no desire to play the game and walked away to focus on raising his young child.
Speas bounced around from a few office jobs before taking a coaching position at an elite boarding school/college athlete factory in North Carolina where, he says, he would watch his players take the field with verve and enthusiasm and wonder why he wasn’t capable of that anymore. Those same players, knowing his background, kept begging to see him throw a bullpen session. When he finally relented, he uncorked a 97 MPH heater without having taken a single warm-up toss. That pitch was filmed by one of his students, who turned it into a viral TikTok video. Through throwing for the kids and making TikToks, Speas began to have fun on the diamond again. He decided to return to the Rangers organization the next year, meaning that, along with Chris Martin and Cam Booser, the Red Sox now have three different relief pitchers who once quit baseball entirely before making their way back.
Speas improved his control enough to finally make it to the big leagues in 2023. But he hasn’t improved his control enough to stay there. After finishing last season with the Rangers, he is already on his fourth different team this year. In 21.2 AAA innings with the A’s, White Sox, and Astros this season, he’s struck out 31 hitters, walked 22, and put up an ugly 10.38 ERA
Show me a cool highlight.
Since TikTok reinvigorated his career, here’s a reel of Speas yawning before throwing 96 MPH in a “pitch design bullpen session”:
And for the pitching nerds out there, here’s the longer 10-minute video of that session. If you’re the type of person who’s used terms like “consistent carry” or “front side acceleration” before then this is for you:
What’s he doing in his picture up there?
Looking at the strike zone with wary suspicion.
What’s his role on the 2024 Red Sox?
He’s not on the 2024 Red Sox right now. He’s on the WooSox, which is to say that he’s in Andrew Bailey and Craig Breslow’s pitching lab. If he can figure out a way to throw strikes down there, expect to see that 100 MPH heater in Fenway some time this summer.