Prospect depth:
- RH Durbin Feltman
- RH Matthew Gorst
- RH Tanner Houck
Tanner Houck is one of the Red Sox top pitching prospects and moved to the bullpen towards the end of last in preparation to possibly join the Red Sox bullpen for the postseason. Obviously, the Red Sox failed to make the postseason and it seems they still intend for Houck to be a starter long term. He could potentially be the fifth starter to open the season but the Red Sox could sign a free agent to fill that spot.
Matthew Gorst finished last year in AAA and posted a 2.70 ERA in a very small sample size.
Durbin Feltman was the Red Sox third-round pick in 2018 and came in with massive expectations. He was dominant in 2018 but hit a wall last year. For most of the year, he did not have feel for his slider, his best pitch, but found it towards the end of the year. He will likely get to AAA at some point and could have a shot at the majors this year with massive upside.
The only one with any shot to make the opening day roster out of these three is Houck. He has upside as a starter and if the Red Sox trust him, he could crack the rotation fairly early. If Feltman can regain his dominance from 2018 he could wind up in the majors pretty fast. However, that is a big if. Gorst is probably the least likely of these three to see the majors this season though he is someone to watch in the minors.