Red Sox’ Blake Aita named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for second time this season

Red Sox pitching prospect Blake Aita has been named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 28-May 4, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

This marks the second time this season that Aita has earned Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors. The 21-year-old first took home the award last month after striking out four and walking only one over five scoreless, no-hit innings in his professional debut for Low-A Salem on April 4.

Aita was arguably even more impressive in his most recent outing for Salem at home last Thursday. Going up against the Fredericksburg Nationals at Carilion Clinic Field, the young right-hander gave up just one hit and no walks while fanning seven across six shutout frames. He took a perfect game into the top of the sixth before giving up a leadoff single, which was nullified two batters later when he induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to end his night.

Finishing with 67 pitches (45 strikes), Aita induced a game-high 14 swings and misses as the Red Sox ultimately held on to defeat the Nationals by a final score of 5-4.

Through five starts for Salem to begin his first full professional season, Aita has posted a 3.28 ERA (3.24 FIP) with 22 strikeouts to six walks over a staff-leading 24 2/3 innings in which opposing hitters have batted .220 against him. Among 15 qualified Caroline League pitchers, he ranks third in WHIP (1.05) and xFIP (3.47), fourth in walks per nine innings (2.19), walk rate (6.1 percent), and FIP, and seventh in groundball rate (45.6 percent), per FanGraphs.

Aita is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 40 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 20th among pitchers in the organization. The Tennessee native was selected by the Red Sox in the sixth round (177th overall) of last year’s draft out of Kennesaw State, where he was named 2024 First Team All-Atlantic Sun. As a draft-eligible sophomore, he signed for $300,000 but waited until this spring to make his pro debut.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Aita throws from a high-three-quarters arm slot and incorporates a medium-high leg kick into his delivery. As noted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report, the intriguing righty operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a 92-95 mph fastball (velocity increased in spring training), an 80-82 mph sweeper, an 86-89 mph cutter, and an 85-89 mph changeup.

Aita, who turns 22 next month, is seemingly a prime candidate to receive a promotion to High-A Greenville in the not-so-distant future. He can continue to strengthen his case for that move by stringing together more dominant outings for Salem in the meantime.