Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock looks sharp in spring training debut

Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock is off to a strong start this spring

Garrett Whitlock had waited a long time to get back on the mound and he didn’t waste the opportunity to make an impression on the Boston Red Sox.

The right-hander made his spring debut on Tuesday, pitching two innings in relief of starter Martin Perez. It was Whitlock’s first game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in July of 2019. Last year’s cancelled minor league season delayed his comeback attempt but he looked sharp for a pitcher who hasn’t seen game action in about 20 months.

Whitlock retired the side in order in the third inning, tallying his first strikeout to end the frame. A one-out double in the fourth posed the only threat to Whitlock’s outing but he followed by striking out 2020 postseason hero Randy Arozarena. He would escape the inning with a groundout from Wander Franco, widely considered the best prospect in baseball.

The outing would end with an encouraging two scoreless innings in which Whitlock allowed only one hit and struck out a pair without allowing a walk.

Whitlock’s fastball sat in the 96-97 mph range, showing an increase in velocity from when he was last seen in 2019 when he was typically in the low 90’s and topped out at 95 mph. The radar guns in Fort Myers might have been a bit generous but at least these results indicate that his velocity isn’t an issue returning from surgery.

He compliments the fastball with a promising slider with good break. Whitlock is still developing a changeup that shows late drop when he has it working for him but needs more consistency to be considered more than an average weapon in his arsenal.

Even with two reliable pitches, Whitlock can be successful in a multi-inning relief role with the potential to fill in for the occasional spot start. That limits his long-term upside but there’s still an opportunity for him to carve out a role on this Red Sox pitching staff.

Whitlock made 14 starts for the Yankees Double-A affiliate in Trenton during the 2019 season before he was shut down with the elbow injury that required surgery. He was 3-3 with a 3.07 ERA. He limited walks with a 2.3 BB/9 but his underwhelming 7.3 K/9 was a steep drop from what he produced at the lower levels.