Chase Shugart   Pitcher

       
 
Born: October 24, 1996
Birthplace: Bridge City, TX
Height: 5-10
Weight: 200 
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
   
Drafted: 12th round, 2018 by BOS
How Acquired: Draft
College: Texas
High School: Bridge City (TX)

Photo © Kelly O'Connor
Chase Shugart photos by Kelly O'Connor
Pronunciation: SHOOG-art
First Pro Contract: July 6, 2018 (BOS)
Signing Scout: Brandon Agamennone
Signing Bonus: $125,000
   
Pro Debut: August 13, 2018 (GCL)
MLB Debut: August 15, 2024 (BOS)
   
Twitter: @cshug2
Instagram: @cshug2

Traded to Pittsburgh for Matt McShane (Jan. 2025)
 
 
 
 
 
     
  Scouting Report & Links      
         
  Physical Description: Short, average frame. Athletic. Quick feet. No remaining projection.

Mechanics: Throws from a high-three-quarters arm slot from the third base side of the rubber. Simple mechanics with some effort. Compact delivery with little wasted motion. Uses a high leg kick with no runners on base. With runners on, streamlines delivery with an abbreviated leg kick. Very quick arm.

Fastball: 93-96 mph. Tops out at 98 mph. Throws both a four-seam and a sinker. Four-seam lacks plane and straightens out up in the zone, where he prefers to throw the pitch. Fringe-average life. Below-average command and control profile. Primarily uses the sinker against right-handed batters and four-seam against left-handed batters. Potential average pitch with refined command.

Cutter: 91-93 mph. Tops out at 95 mph. Short, horizontal break. Evolved from his 85-88 mph bullet slider, which looked cutterish at times. Initially struggled to land in the zone consistently, but is able to land it more for strikes now. Primarily used against left-handed hitters. Potential fringe-average offering.

Sweeper: 79-84 mph. Long, horizontal break. Pitch that he has gotten more confident with the more he has thrown it. Able to land in the zone. Potential average offering.

Changeup: 88-90 mph. Inconsistent movement. Firm; looks like a fastball that he took something off of at times. Will show drop on occasion. Only uses against left-handed hitters. Primarily used as a change-of-pace offering and only against left-handed to steal a strike. Limited bat-missing ability. Potential average offering.

Curveball: 77-79 mph. Appears to have scrapped the pitch in 2024. 12-to-6 shape. Has feel and confidence in the pitch. Willing to throw in any count to both right- and left-handed hitters. Shows tight rotation and depth when he snaps it off. Potential fringe-average offering.
  Career Notes: Undrafted out of high school. Pitched out of the Texas bullpen for two seasons before moving into the rotation for his junior season. Stuff unexpectedly ticked way up after signing in 2018, likely surprising even the organization, but only pitched in short stints after his increased spring workload as a starter and Texas' deep run to the College World Series. Was suspended for 50 games at the outset of the 2019 season for a second failed drug test. Participated in the Fall Instructional League in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Underwent a procedure on his knee in roughly May 2020. While he did not miss time because of the procedure due to the canceled season, he did not pitch at Fall Instructs as a result. Participated in the 2022 Winter Warm-Up. Moved into a bullpen role in 2022. Pitched briefly in the Dominican Republic in the 2022-23 offseason but was released early in the LIDOM season to make room for other players on the roster. Received a non-roster invitation to MLB spring training in 2023. Earned first MLB call-up in August 2024.

Summation: Projects as a solid up-and-down depth arm. Ceiling of a major league quality depth reliever. Lacks a standout pitch, but can keep hitters off-balance by mixing and matching with his five distinct pitches. Can pitch in all four directions with his arsenal having such wide movement profiles. Best secondary varies from outing to outing, but has shown the ability to miss bats with his fastball. Solid pitchability and is flexible enough to be used in a one-inning role or for bulk relief, as he has at times been called upon to make spot starts in Triple-A bullpen games or take a few turns in the rotation in a temporary role. Type of pitcher every organization needs and is very well liked in the clubhouse. To stick in the big leagues for an extended period of time, will have to make a jump with his command and control that he has not shown the ability to do yet.

Links
Scouting Scratch (10.16.2018)
State of the System 2020: Noteworthy Extras (5.26.2020)

Scouting Scratch: Red Sox 2021 Rule 5 Preview (11.18.2021)
Scouting Report Update (3.8.2022)
 
   
     
    Pitching Stats                                          
  year team lg level org age w l % era g gs sv ip h r er hr bb so whip k/bb k/9
2016 Texas NCAA Coll --- 19 2 3 0.400 4.53 32 0 5 43.2 39 25 22 1 24 38 1.44 1.58 7.83
  2017 Texas NCAA Coll --- 20 3 2 0.600 3.43 29 0 3 42.0 39 17 16 3 22 30 1.45 1.36 6.43
  2018 Texas NCAA Coll --- 21 6 3 0.667 4.64 21 15 2 95.0 90 56 49 9 41 69 1.38 1.68 6.54
  2018 GCL Red Sox GCL Rk Bos 21 0 1 0.000 1.80 3 3 0 5.0 4 3 1 0 1 6 1.00 6.00 10.80
  2018 Lowell Spinners NYPL A- Bos 21 0 0 --- 0.00 1 1 0 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 --- 9.00
  2019 Greenville Drive SAL A Bos 22 6 4 0.600 2.81 16 16 0 89.2 89 36 28 4 23 73 1.25 3.17 7.33
  2020 Season Cancelled --- --- Bos 23 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
  2021 Greenville Drive HAE A+ Bos 24 6 6 0.500 4.78 22 22 0 105.1 122 58 56 12 24 93 1.39 3.88 7.90
  2021 Indios de Mayagüez LBPRC Wint --- 24 1 0 1.000 2.84 5 0 1 6.1 5 2 2 1 2 9 1.11 4.50 12.79
  2022 Portland Sea Dogs East AA Bos 25 2 2 0.500 3.77 25 0 5 31.0 29 17 13 3 10 34 1.26 3.40 9.87
  2022 Worcester Red Sox IL AAA Bos 25 3 3 0.500 6.82 20 1 0 31.2 39 26 24 5 11 29 1.58 2.64 8.24
  2022 Estrellas Orientales LIDOM Wint --- 25 1 0 1.000 16.20 4 0 0 3.1 5 6 6 1 2 1 2.10 0.50 2.70
  2023 Worcester Red Sox IL AAA Bos 26 4 1 0.800 8.22 40 2 4 46.0 62 44 42 11 24 39 1.87 1.63 7.63
  2024 Worcester Red Sox IL AAA Bos 27 6 2 4.46 26 5 1 70.2 65 45 35 7 6 32 80 1.37 10.19 4.08
  2024 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 27 0 0 --- 4.15 6 0 1 8.2 8 4 4 1 3 8 1.27 2.67 8.31
  2025 Worcester Red Sox IL AAA Bos 28     stats                            
   
     
  Advanced Stats & Splits
   
     
  Awards   SoxProspects.com Awards  
  2024 Red Sox Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year   -  
   

   
     
 
 
 
     
 
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