Tanner Houck Begins Rehab Assignment With Worcester To Mixed Results

For the first time since May 12th against Detroit, Tanner Houck pitched in a live baseball game. Starting his rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester, Houck toed the rubber as he began his journey to get back to Boston. The right-hander had a difficult time locating pitches in his first start in over a month, needing 27 pitches to get through the first inning. Overall, Houck lasted one inning (though he did face one batter in the second inning) and allowed one run on two hits and a walk. He was pulled after throwing 32 pitches.

In that first inning, Houck allowed three hard-hit balls, the last two being two-out hits that were clocked at 103 mph and 101.2 mph, respectively. In the start, Houck relied on his usual pitch mix as he led with the sinker and sweeper while he used his splitter to attempt to keep batters off balance. His fastball was also tossed a few times, while the right-hander also appeared to throw a cutter for the first time all season, as he might be tinkering with his pitch makeup.

His velocity maxed out at 95.6 mph with his sinker and was able to throw strikes throughout the short appearance. Of his 32 pitches, 12 were located in the strike zone, and he managed to induce 16 swings overall, resulting in a total of 18 strikes. Unfortunately, he only generated one whiff on his sweeper and struggled to put batters away once he reached two strikes. Due to this, his pitch count ballooned quickly as he was at 27 pitches by the end of the first.

When it came to velocity, his average speeds were an increase over his last appearance in Detroit. While the sinker was nearly identical, averaging 94.3 mph on Wednesday night compared to 94 mph in Detroit, his sweeper showed an increased velocity, averaging 86.1 mph compared to 83.5 mph in Detroit. His fastball was a little slower, averaging 93.4 mph compared to 94.5 mph, but he also only threw two of them Wednesday night. The splitter was also slightly below, averaging 88.9 mph on Wednesday compared to 89 mph in Detroit. The increase in velocity on his sweeper was a positive sign, as it maxed out at 91.2 mph on Wednesday night, a full six mph increase from the maximum velocity it had reached in his last start at Detroit. 

It was very likely that Houck was on a low pitch count, considering the time frame it had been since his last start. The Red Sox probably hoped that he could manage to put batters away, however. In the first inning alone, Houck had two at-bats that resulted in at least eight pitches as he failed to put batters away. Houck would return for the second inning, facing one batter whom he walked on five pitches before being pulled for Isaac Coffey. The runner would eventually come around and score, closing the book on Houck’s night.

Of his pitches thrown, the sinker was hit most often as it was fouled off three times and put into play another four times. When swung at contact was made every time. This was also present with his splitter, where it was fouled off four times and put into play once. One thing Houck will need to work towards in his next appearance is the ability to put batters away instead of them fouling off his pitches.

With the Red Sox rotation heating up the last few weeks and fellow starter Richard Fitts likely to be recalled to the team in the foreseeable future, Houck may have some time to get back into pitching shape. Houck’s next rehab appearance appears to be Tuesday, June 23rd, in Scranton with the Woosox, followed by June 29th with the Woosox as well. Following the completion of the third rehab start, the team will likely assess Houck's current progress in the rehab process before making any decisions.

Being only 28 years old and coming off an All-Star season just last year, Houck still has plenty of potential that the Red Sox would love to see him pitch for them. The organization will likely take its time with Houck as he ramps back up, but if he pitches decently over the next two rehab appearances, don’t be surprised if the team activates him before the All-Star break.