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CarL1 Salem Red Sox

Sox Hurler Bryan Mata Named to 2018 MLB Futures Game

July 6, 2018 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release


WOODBRIDGE, VA - The Salem Red Sox will be sending a young phenom to Washington D.C. for the MLB All-Star festivities this month, as 19-year-old Venezuelan righty Bryan Mata was named to the World Team roster for the MLB Futures Game on July 15.

The young Venezuelan is 5-2 with a 3.14 ERA (eighth-best among Carolina League starting pitchers) and a .219 opposing batting average (fourth-best in CL), and has not lost a game since May 10 against the Lynchburg Hillcats. Mata was the youngest player on any CL roster to open the 2018 season, as he turned 19 on May 3. Mata made his most recent start Thursday night against the Potomac Nationals, allowing three runs in five innings and recording his fifth win of the year. He is the fourth-youngest player named to the 2018 MLB Futures Game, older than only Luis Garcia (Washington), Heliot Ramos (San Francisco), and 2017 #2 overall draft pick Hunter Greene (Cincinnati).

In 2017, Mata excelled for the low-A Greenville Drive in the South Atlantic League, posting a 5-6 record with a 3.74 ERA in 17 starts. He struck out 74, and walked only 26. In his pro debut in 2016, Mata shone in the Dominican Summer League, with a 4-4 record and 2.80 ERA over 14 starts. Prior to the 2018 season, Mata was ranked the fourth-best prospect in the Red Sox system by Baseball America, MLB.com, and ESPN's Keith Law. SoxProspects.com had him as the third-best prospect in the system, and they currently rank him as the second-best prospect in the system, trailing only slugging corner infielder Michael Chavis. Mata is the first active member of the Salem Red Sox to be named to the Futures Game since Xander Bogaerts in 2012.

Mata is joined on the World Team roster by former Salem Red Sox outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe, who was dealt to the Chicago White Sox in 2016 along with fellow former Salem players Michael Kopech, Yoan Moncada and Victor Diaz for current Red Sox ace Chris Sale. Basabe currently plays for Chicago's Double-A team, the Birmingham Barons. Moncada and Kopech were both Futures Games participants in 2017, as was former Salem standout and current Boston third baseman Rafael Devers.

Former Salem pitcher Shaun Anderson has been named to the U.S. Team's roster, pitching to a 5-5 record with a 3.56 ERA with the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels in the San Francisco Giants organization. Anderson was traded to San Francisco last year as part of the package that brought utility infielder Eduardo Nunez to Boston.

The Sox will try to keep their bats hot Friday night, with righty Jake Thompson taking the hill for Salem against Potomac Nationals southpaw Nick Raquet. First pitch at Pfitzner Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and the pregame show with Ben Gellman and Suzie Cool begins at 6:45 p.m. on the Red Sox broadcast network.

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Carolina League Stories from July 6, 2018


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