Connelly Early’s big day: The first time that many Red Sox fans had even heard of Connelly Early was probably Tuesday afternoon, when news broke that the 23-year-old left-handed pitching prospect was getting his MLB call-up with pitcher Dustin May heading to the injured list.
Though he’s a ranked prospect in Boston’s minor league system, Early had mostly not received the same level of hype as fellow rookie Payton Tolle.
Yet by pitching five scoreless innings and striking out 11 (tying a team record for rookie debuts), Early authored one of the best first career starts in recent Red Sox history.