Jake Bennett Is Restoring Faith In Red Sox's Pitching Depth

[Nick John]

Worcester, MA — “When you’re a big lefty, the physical presence on its own it’s kind of big. And then be able to have that low demeanor on the mound, those pitchers are dangerous because you have no idea if you’ve gotten to them or not,” acting Worcester Red Sox manager Iggy Suarez stated back on May 20 about pitcher Jake Bennett.

Back in mid-December when Craig Breslow pulled the trigger on a trade with the Washington Nationals for Bennett, there were mixed reactions. On the surface, Bennett looked exactly like the kind of pitcher Breslow coveted: Tall, great extension, and left-handed. Despite that, the fact that the Red Sox relinquished Luis Perales, who (despite being frequently injured) was one of their top prospects and armed with a fastball that could hit triple digits, was a difficult reality to swallow. The thought was that the Red Sox were moving Perales, a pitcher with an injury history and who had signs of being a bullpen arm in the big leagues, for Bennett, a pitcher with a higher floor as a guaranteed starting pitcher.

And yet, no one expected Bennett to pitch as great as he has this season.

The left-hander entered 2026 with only 10 career games at the Double-A level. but that didn’t stop Breslow and the Red Sox from sending him to Triple-A to open the season. Despite that lack of experience facing batters in the upper minors, he looked like he belonged in Triple-A from his first outing. Starting the season opener against the Syracuse Mets, Bennett pitched on a limited pitch count, wherein he tossed three innings and allowed just two hits and one unearned run while striking out five and generating seven whiffs. He was in command and that has only continued throughout the season.

As of the end of May, Bennett has made seven starts for Worcester, tossing 29 1/3 innings while allowing just eight runs, six earned, walking five while striking out 30. In his last two outings, he's struck out 18 combined batters.

When Bennett was promoted to the major leagues on May 1, there was some concern that he was being rushed. At that time, he had made just five starts in Triple-A, but the Red Sox were in need of pitching. The 25-year-old managed to provide just that, winning his debut by pitching five innings, allowing just one run despite constant traffic on the bases. His second outing saw him battle into the sixth inning, only to leave with a runner on base. That runner would come around to score, bringing his final stat line to 5 1/3 innings with six hits and four runs allowed. Following the outing, he was optioned back to Worcester as the team needed a fresh arm to assist the bullpen.

With Bennett being optioned for the first time, Suarez knew how to handle any disappointment the pitcher may have been feeling.

“You let him know that he’s got the talent to get there and to stay there. It’s just more of a spot that they need and it’s not anything of him being demoted from the way he pitched. It’s not because you didn’t do well that outing [against the Rays] and you need to work on stuff. There’s a reason why we got you in the trade and got you up there. It shows you can hang with those guys,” Suarez explained to the media following Bennett being sent back to Worcester. “He’s a strike thrower. First [start] was better than the second one, but it’s the big leagues man, that’s gonna happen. How you deal with it is how you stay up there and how you last in this game.”

Bennett’s first game back was a little rough, lasting just 3 1/3 innings against a hot Buffalo Bisons team. He pitched around seven hits, allowing just four runs to score despite the constant traffic on the bases, something that Suarez pointed out.

“He’s good at controlling his emotions, being able to get in the zone consistently when he’ll get some soft contact because that’s what happened in Buffalo. He fell victim to that [soft contact], swinging bunts and it’s like, you look at the line score and it’s like he had a bad outing. Not really, maybe one [instance of] hard contact, that was about it.”

Bennett would follow up that outing with what may have been his two best outings as a professional. Pitching on May 20 against his former organization, the Rochester Red Wings, Bennett threw a masterclass as he made just one mistake, that being a solo home run in the second inning. Facing players that he had come up with and played with since being drafted, the hulking southpaw tossed five innings where he worked around seven hits on his way to striking out 11 batters and generating 15 whiffs. Whether it was the warm temperature on the night or the adrenaline of facing his old teammates, Bennett also saw an uptick in his velocity as every pitch sat at least 1.5 mph faster than his season average, including a fastball that topped out at 95.6 mph.

In his final inning of the evening, Bennett appeared to be in a dangerous situation as the Red Wings loaded the bases against him to start the inning. Instead, he managed to stop their offense by striking out the next three batters, a detail that stood out to Suarez.

“What impressed me was getting out of that bases-loaded jam and how he walked off the mound like it was ‘okay’. I’m pretty sure inside he was amped up. Doesn’t get rattled. To be able to look up after that outing and look at the numbers and go holy crap he punched out 11. And it wasn’t like he was blowing doors, he was pitching. I think he’s starting to realize that’s what big league pitchers do. In moments like that [bases loaded jam] there’s no panic, there’s a way for him to slow the game down and get out of stuff like that. He’s showing why he’s a big-league pitcher,” Suarez explained. Entering the game, Rochester was one of the hottest teams in the International League, filled with a lineup of players who all seemed to be on hot streaks upon their arrival to Worcester. That didn’t intimidate Bennett.

Bennett didn’t lose the momentum of that game either. Making his next start against Scranton on May 27, he continued his dominance as he allowed just one run across five innings again. This time it was on a solo home run to Yankee’s top prospect George Lombard Jr. to lead off the game. After that, he allowed just three more hits for the entire game while striking out seven batters and getting 16 whiffs, leading Worcester to an 8-1 win.

With each outing Bennett seems to continue his growth as a pitcher, showcasing the potential that the front office saw in him when they targeted him this past offseason. While growth in baseball is never linear, each successive start is making Bennett look better. At his current level of production, there should be no arguments over him being called up to start in place of an injured starter. If anything, Bennett is helping to rebuild trust in the starting pitching depth that has been torn to shreds due to multiple early season injuries in Boston.

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