Top Red Sox Pitching Prospect With Elite Upside Headed To Injured List

The Boston Red Sox will have to pause the development of their top pitching prospect due to an unfortunate injury.

The 24-year-old exited his start Tuesday against the Washington Nationals Triple-A affiliate after grabbing at his side/shoulder.

“Some prospect news: Bryan Mata going on the seven-day injured list in Worcester with right shoulder inflammation," MassLive's Chris Cotillo tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

Mata started his season with Triple-A Worcester on a note he’d likely want to forget. He has a 5.61 ERA with a 26-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .263 batting average against and 2.06 WHIP in seven games this season.

Although Mata has been struggling thus far, he’s got one of the highest ceilings in the farm system. The young hurler is the No. 6 prospect (and No. 1 pitcher) in the organization according to MLB Pipeline, likely due to his velocity. Mata can run his fastball up to 100 mph when he needs it.

With some questions on exactly where Mata was injured, Red Sox manager Alex Cora took to the media to give a brief update Wednesday night.

“It’s the lat, so we're going to wait,” Cora told Cotillo. “It’s not as bad as we thought yesterday. He’s going to stay with the team. We’re going to re-evaluate on Monday when (the WooSox) come back. They put him on the injured list, but hopefully, it's something that’s going to take a few weeks.”

Time will tell how Mata recovers from the injury, but both Cora and Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom claimed the young hurler will reach the big leagues at some point this season.