Fort Myers, Florida: In a March 2019 YouTube video, pitching prospect Nicholas Judice of the Red Sox is referred to as “a human highlight reel.” The senior player for his school’s basketball team is shown dunking and blocking shots in the video.
An assassination guard? In the minute and thirteen second clip, the 6-foot-8, 230-pound righty appears more like a center or power forward.
He remarked, “I was really skinny back then.” “I was about 6-8, 180, or 175 pounds.” I also gained weight while in college.
The 22-year-old, who first dunk as a sophomore in high school, was acquired by the Red Sox on December 5 from the Yankees in exchange for right-handed pitchers Greg Weissert and Richard Fitts, as well as Alex Verdugo.
Fitts, who is ranked No. 11 in the system by MassLive, is the best prospect that Boston got in the trade. During spring training, Weissert shown excellent slider and fastball skills. This year, he’ll assist Boston. Weissert possesses a three-quarter arm slot; manager Alex Cora likened him to John Schreiber.
Meanwhile, the third item in the return package is Judice. Despite not having pitched in a professional game yet, his size, athleticism, and rising velo give him interesting potential.
“I had basketball options.” Judice remarked, “I’ve always enjoyed baseball more. “My family plays basketball, but I lean more toward baseball.”
Being the tallest person in the family, he is three inches taller than his father, who participated in high school baseball and basketball.
Judice remarked, “I just fell in love with the way you compete in baseball.” It’s two distinct perspectives on the game. Baseball is more of a one-on-one sport. I adore that.
Judice was selected by the Yankees in the July draft from the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Before he made a single pitch for New York, he was traded, which he described as feeling “very weird.”
On July 18, he signed a contract, and on July 29, the Yankees assigned him to the Florida Complex League Yankees. But because of his innings total—53 in college last year, followed by 12 ⅓ in the Cape Cod League—New York shut him down for the remainder of the season.
