Red Sox starter Tanner Houck
This one has my attention more than the other two and possibly more than anyone else that’ll be featured in this series. Tanner Houck has long been touted as one of the highest pitching prospects in the farm system and finally made his Red Sox debut earlier this week. For the longest time, I’ve heard from BSI’s Hunter Knoll about how good Houck is and can be if given the chance, and the righty lived up to that high praise.
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The other aspect of Houck’s success is that he donates $100 to his Pitch for Adoption charity for every strikeout he records. Tanner’s family adopted his little sister while he was in high school and ever since he’s been pro-adoption and gives everything he can to support the cause. How can you root against a guy that has such a good heart? In his debut against the Marlins, he tossed a stellar 5.0IP/2H/3BB/7K outing and impressed everyone watching.
The right-hander will now get the biggest test of his professional career as he makes not only his Fenway Park debut this weekend but also gets his first taste of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. For me, the most impressive thing I saw from Houck the other night was his slider. Barstool Sports’ Jared Carrabis said it best on yesterday’s “Section-10 Podcast,” when he said that Houck looked like a righthanded Chris Sale. He had an insane level of sweep on the pitch that kept Miami’s offense guessing all night.
With the rotation in serious flux, as both Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez carry massive question marks about their health, another strong outing from Houck could earn him a starting rotation job in 2021. At the very least, he could become a regular starter while we await the return of the duo of southpaws and then move to the bullpen. Either way, it was a blast to see him pitch the other night and I’m really excited to see what he can do against this always dangerous Yankees lineup.