Connelly Early

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Todd Connelly McNeil Early

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Biographical Information[edit]

Left-handed pitcher Connelly Early had a very strong major league debut for the Boston Red Sox against The Athletics in West Sacramento, CA on September 9, 2025, as he tossed five shutout innings, walked one and struck out 11 to earn credit for a 6-0 win. His strikeout total matched the franchise record for most K's in a big league debut, set by Don Aase in 1977, and Early had never recorded that many on any minor league game or in college.

Early was drafted by the Red Sox in the 5th round of the 2023 amateur draft, out of the University of Virginia. Prior to playing for the Cavaliers, he had spent a couple of seasons at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY, before transferring. He went 12-3, 3.09 in 19 games in his lone season with Virginia in 2023. With the Cavaliers, he formed a battery with Kyle Teel and played in the 2023 College World Series. He made his professional debut in 2024, splitting his season between the High-A Greenville Drive and the AA Portland Sea Dogs. His record was not particularly impressive, at 3-9, 3.99, but the underlying numbers were a lot better, with just 84 hits allowed in 103 2/3 innings, and 138 strikeouts. In 2025, prior to his call-up to the Show, he pitched 15 times for Portland and another 6 for the Worcester Red Sox of the AAA International League, going 10-3, 2.60. He struck out 132 batters in 100 1/3 innings. While talk around the Red Sox focused mainly on their hitting prospects, namely Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell, all of whom had made their debut during the season, his credentials as a pitcher were just as impressive, which explains why the Sox were ready to give him the ball to start a game, following an injury to Dustin May, at a key point of the season while they were trying to nail down a spot in the postseason. He went 1-2, 2.33 in 4 starts in the regular season, and was picked to start the decisive Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees at New Yankee Stadium on October 2nd. That game received a ton of publicity, not just because it was a winner-take-all showdown between the two most famous rivals in baseball, but because his opponent was another rookie who had only made his big league debut in the second half of the season in Cam Schlittler. Cam ended up pitching a masterpiece, with 8 scoreless innings, but Connelly held his own for the first three innings before the Yankees got to him for four runs in the 4th and he was charged with the 4-0 loss.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Ian Browne: "Early impressing in Portland, winter work paying off", mlb.com, May 12, 2025. [1]
  • Theo DeRosa: "Early success! Sox rookie ties franchise record with electric 11-K debut", mlb.com, September 10, 2025. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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