The past 18 months have required a lot of patience from Tanner Houck.
He spent much of last summer at the Red Sox alternate site in Pawtucket, refining his splitter and overall command against left-handed hitters. In September, he debuted with three terrific starts, allowing just one earned run. And while he made the big league roster out of spring training, it was only for an abbreviated stint with Eduardo Rodriguez taking an extra week to join the team after a slow build-up in spring training. Still, in two starts and one relief outing, Houck pitched well before returning to Florida for minor league camp.
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Then in early May, after one Triple-A start, he was sidelined with a flexor tendon strain. It could have been much worse, only sidelining him for about a month.
So when he returned to the mound for Worcester on June 17, it was as if the pent-up energy he’d bottled up came pouring out. He threw three hitless innings, striking six of the 10 batters he faced.
In four starts since his return, he’s posted a 3.07 ERA with 19 strikeouts and just three walks in 14 ⅔ innings.
“Since he’s stepped on the mound, it’s like he hasn’t missed a beat,” Triple-A pitching coach Paul Abbott said. “There’s no restriction at all with any pitches thrown. It’s Tanner Houck electricity and it’s carried over to the game as well. He’s commanding well. It looks like he picked up where he left off, so I’m excited to see him as he builds up arm strength.”
And now, it’s likely he’ll finally make his long-anticipated return to the majors after the All-Star break.
The Red Sox play 18 straight days out of the break against the Yankees, Blue Jays and Rays and manager Alex Cora has started to reveal some of the team’s second-half plans for keeping its starters healthy.
Thanks to a mix of luck and preparation, the Red Sox had such a healthy rotation that their five-man group has made 84 starts of the team’s 86 games thus far. Houck has the other two starts.
Coming off a shortened season last year, the Red Sox weren’t particularly worried about the first half health-wise, but were concerned about how their starters would fare in the second half. Because of that, they anticipated working Houck into the mix to give each starter an extra day, or to provide long relief and shorten the outings of other starters. Reliever Garrett Whitlock will surely factor into the equation as well. And if all goes well with his rehab, Chris Sale is expected to return sometime in early-to-mid August.
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“It’s very important especially coming from where they came from last year, only 60 games, and obviously everybody posting as of now, every five days, we have to take care of these guys,” Cora said. “I’ve been saying all along, now we’re in the middle of this. There’s no looking back. We love the fact that we’re going to be in it and it’s going to be a fun summer, but at the same time now, we have to think not only about the present but also the future. Having all these guys trending up obviously, being healthy, is going to help. We’ll have conversations and we’ll see how we attack those days and it’s very important. It’s very important for their health and obviously the stamina of our starters.”
It’s possible the Red Sox might get creative with their rotation at the start of the second half, especially considering they could be shaping up for a deeper playoff run than anticipated.
“If we have to piggyback guys or — not take it easy with them, but kind of taper down a little bit their outings, we might do it,” Cora said.
But none of that would be possible without a viable option in Houck, patiently waiting his turn. The 25-year-old, drafted in the first round in 2017, is the latest Red Sox attempt at developing a quality homegrown starter. His potential is perhaps part of the reason they’ve been so intentional and deliberate with his path to the majors. For his part, Houck hasn’t balked at the sometimes slow process.
“He comes in with the best possible demeanor every day,” Abbott said. “You never see him down. And when it’s his day to work, it’s game on — his alter ego on the mound with his hat down low, and he’s in for battle. He could be, ‘I gave up one run in three starts, why aren’t I there?’ High profile guy, first-round pick, but I haven’t seen that. He just wants to get better and he knows wherever he’s at, that’s the goal.”
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Over the past year, as the Red Sox have slowly brought him along, Houck has been able to refine his splitter to complement his slider, sinker and four-seamer. He has also worked on attacking left-handed hitters, who had been a problem for him earlier in his minor league career. Toiling away from the limelight has helped Houck strengthen his overall arsenal, particularly with his command to the glove side.
“He didn’t really have that, that was the last ingredient he needed to get a hold of,” Abbott said. “Everything was going away from lefties, he didn’t have anything over there. Worked on a four-seamer to get some carry glove side and it’s been a game-changer. Now he’s got something for lefties. … He’s got that split to go with it now, the ability to cover that glove side has increased with the split action and just increases his total command with all his pitches being able to get over there.”
Houck might not have to wait much longer to put all that work back to use with the big league team.
“He’s somebody that’s going to be really important for us this year and moving forward,” senior vice president of baseball operations Ben Crockett said. “We’re trying to do right by him and make sure he’s healthy and from there I’m sure opportunities will arise.”
(Photo: Billie Weiss / Boston Red Sox / Getty Images)