Gerson Bautista

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Seattle Mariners #29 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Bautista has been traded twice since signing with the Red Sox at 17, first to the Mets in the 2017 Addison Reed deal and then to the Mariners in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz deal in December 2018. After pitching mostly at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2018, with a few big league appearances mixed in, Bautista finished the year with a promising stint in the Arizona Fall League.
  
  Scouting Report: Bautista's top pitch is his blazing four-seam fastball that averages 98 mph and touches triple digits. His heater comes out of a high-effort delivery with a long arm action. His mid-80s slider has two-plane action, but he struggles to command the pitch, especially to his glove side. He infrequently throws a low-90s split-changeup that can get swings-and-misses. While Bautista's 2018 numbers were inflated by poor luck on balls in play, the consistency of his offerings remains an issue.
  
  The Future: Bautista flashes high-leverage stuff but is held back by the poor command. He tantalized in small samples in the AFL but resembles an up-and-down middle reliever with a raw power arm.
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  Ranked New York Mets #25 prospect in 2018
  Bautista signed with the Red Sox for $250,000 in 2013, just shy of his 18th birthday. He sat out that season, however, after being suspended 50 games for testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. Tall, gangly and quick-armed, Bautista worked as a starter in the complex Rookie leagues before shifting to the bullpen in 2016. He reached high Class A in 2017, when Boston shipped him and fellow relievers Jamie Callahan and Stephen Nogosek to the Mets for Addison Reed near the trade deadline. Bautista owned the best fastball in the Red Sox system and came as advertised. He topped out at 101 mph and rarely threw a pitch slower than 95, as he struck out 11 batters per nine innings in 2017. He leans on his fastball, but he'll need to throw more strikes from a high-effort delivery that sees him open early, using a long arm action and dramatic recoil. His mid-80s slider could be a usable second pitch with continued improvement. He also throws a low-90s split-changeup that Mets closer Jeurys Familia complimented when he saw Bautista at high Class A St. Lucie while on a rehab assignment. Bautista joined the 40-man roster in November and appears destined for Double-A Binghamton in 2018.
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  Ranked Boston Red Sox #20 prospect in 2017
  Bautista turned 19 not long after signing with the Red Sox in April 2013 and performed well as a starter in the Dominican Summer League in 2014 and Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2015. He showed explosive stuff in his move to the bullpen in 2016, mixing a 95-100 mph fastball with an above-average high-80s slider that has a chance to be a second plus offering. This allowed Bautista to impress evaluators while making the transition from short-season Lowell (where he had a 0.87 ERA) to low Class A Greenville in 2016. He throws with some funk in his stride and delivery, particularly with a dip that occurs with his lower half that can create inconsistency in his ability to throw strikes. But when Bautista is on, he shows the possibility of two plus weapons that creates a potential set-up reliever ceiling. Because of the work he faces in locking in his delivery, Bautista remains far from the big leagues, but he does have more upside than many of the relief prospects in the Red Sox system.