Wilfredo Boscan Stats & Scouting Report

IP	17.2
ERA	6.11
WHIP	1.64
BB/9	2.55
SO/9	4.08

Full name Wilfredo Jose Boscan
Born 10/26/1989 in Maracaibo, Venezuela
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 228 / Bats: R / Throws: R
Debut 05/19/2016

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

The Rangers signed Boscan for a bargain-basement $15,000 when he was a skinny 17-year-old with a low- 80s fastball. His velocity jumped to 86-92 mph during his breakout 2008, and he followed up with a solid season as a 19-year-old in low Class A. Boscan pitched at 88-92 mph last year, and his loose, clean arm action suggests he could add another tick or two as he matures. He has started to fill out his wiry frame and improve his stamina. Boscan's best assets are his control and feel for pitching. He can attack hitters' weaknesses with two-seam and four-seam fastballs, an above-average changeup and a curveball that projects as an average pitch. He still struggles to throw his curve for strikes at times, but it did start to become more consistent at Hickory. Boscan is a younger, less physical version of Omar Poveda, and he projects similarly as a command-and-control starter at the back of a big league rotation. He's likely to start 2010 back in low Class A, with a promotion to Bakersfield likely by midseason.
Boscan was a skinny 17-year-old with an 82-83 mph fastball when he signed in 2007, and his stuff quickly improved. He always has filled up the strike zone--Rangers international scouting director A.J. Preller remembers seeing him throw 60 strikes in a 73-pitch, eight-inning outing in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League during his debut--and his velocity jumped to 86-92 mph range at short-season Spokane in 2008. Boscan has a strong, wiry frame and a loose, easy arm action that suggest he could have a plus fastball in the future. He already shows the ability to touch 93 mph when he needs a big pitch with two strikes. He locates his fastball well to both sides of the plate and can run it back across the outside corner against lefthanders. Boscan also has superb feel for a tumbling, fading changeup that projects as a true plus pitch and already is at times. He throws strikes with his improving curveball, though sometimes his high arm slot drops to three-quarters when he throws it, causing it to get slurvy. Still, it's easy to project his curve as another average pitch, if not a tick better. Boscan's command of all three pitches is advanced for his age. If he adds velocity as he fills out, he could become a frontline starter, and his feel for pitching is good enough that he could succeed in the majors with an average fastball. He should open 2009 in low Class A and could move fairly quickly.

Minor League Top Prospects

Another teenage pitching standout for Spokane, Boscan led the NWL in wins (nine) while finishing fourth in ERA (3.12) and strikeouts (70 in 69 innings). For an 18-year-old, he showed uncanny fastball command and mound presence. He was fearless, working the inside corner and throwing any pitch in any count. Boscan's fastball ranges from 88-92 mph and it tends to sink down and away from righthanders. He changes speeds on his over-the-top curveball, and he gets good late movement on his plus changeup. His 70-11 K-BB ratio ranked second in the league to Loree, who's three years older.