How a former rookie of the year helped the Sox snag surprising Whitlock
Garrett Whitlock is the most surprising player on a highly surprising team, an unheralded find who has been as dominant as nearly any reliever in baseball. That Whitlock is a member of the Red Sox — plucked from the Yankees organization via the Rule 5 draft — offers a reminder of both the potential impact of scouts as well as the tenuousness of their profession.
The 24-year-old has been overpowering. In three appearances, Whitlock — an 18th-round pick in 2017 who was pitching in Double Ain 2019 before requiring Tommy John surgery late that year — has logged 6 ⅓ shutout innings, allowing three hits without walking a batter and striking out nine.
Whitlock has blown away opposing hitters chiefly on the strength of a 94-96 mph. sinker and a vicious low-80s changeup that darts below bats. His success has come even when attacking — 25 percent of his offerings in the strike zone have resulted in a swing-and-miss, among the highest rates in MLB. That’s an incredibly promising sign for future effectiveness.
That performance speaks to gains Whitlock made through his diligent work while rehabbing in 2020 from Tommy John surgery. While a Yankees minor leaguer, Whitlock was chiefly a groundball pitcher who got a ton of bad contact thanks to his movement and location.
WhenWhitlock joined them this year, the Red Sox were pleasantly surprised to see the quality of both pitches had improved, his fastball velocity increasing slightly and his changeup gaining significantly greater movement.
“Hehad good stuff before. He didn’t show up out of nowhere. …[But] the changeup has definitely taken a step forward this year,” said Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush. “The changeup added about three more inches of depth. … Three inches is wider than the bat or the ball. That alone will create more swings and misses.”
With his improving mix, Whitlock is more promising now than he was when he last pitched in the minors in July 2019. The Red Sox look to be beneficiaries thanks in part to a scout’s enthusiastic endorsement of his work in the Yankees system — including just before his injury.
In June 2019, Red Sox pro scout Bob Hamelin, the 1994 A.L. rookie of the year with the Royals, saw Whitlock pitch in Double A. Whitlock was outstanding as a starter that month, turning in five straight outings of at least six innings. He struck out 25 and walked five over 30 innings.
As Hamelin filed his view that Whitlock could be a big league starter, he checked a box on the report to recommend that the team try to land the righthander if he ever became eligible for the Rule 5 draft.
Snow,rain leadtopostponement: Friday’s game against the White Sox at Fenway Park was postponed because of snow and rain in Boston. The series opener will be rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader Sunday.