Red Sox’s Hunter Dobbins Learns To Live At Top Of Velocity Scale
Righthander Hunter Dobbins decided to hit the gas in 2024.
In his first three pro seasons, Dobbins mostly sat at 93-95 mph while flashing the ability to get to velocities a couple ticks above that. But this season he challenged himself with a proposition: What if he lived at the top end of that scale?
“We kind of shifted to more, ‘We’re gonna attack from batter one, and if we run out of gas, we run out of gas. But I’m gonna give it my most quality pitches from pitch one,’ ” Dobbins said. “I found that I was able to still maintain (top end velocity) from inning one through six.”
The Red Sox drafted Dobbins out of Texas Tech in the eighth round in 2021, while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. He ended 2024 at Triple-A Worcester and was sitting 95-97 mph and occasionally touching 98.
“Going forward, that’s what I want to be,” Dobbins said.
That velocity bump served as the anchor for an evolving pitch mix that now features five pitches: fastball, slider, cutter, curveball, and now a low-90s splinker that he conjured in the middle of 2024 while experimenting with sinker grips in a pregame bullpen session.
In 25 starts spanning 125.2 innings for Double-A Portland and Worcester, Dobbins rode that mix to a 3.08 ERA with a 23% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. Though his strikeout rate was modest, he avoided barrels, allowing just two home runs.
Dobbins’ steadily improving mix suggested back-of-the-rotation potential, though his sizable platoon splits—.497 OPS allowed to righthanded batters and .709 to lefties—could push him toward the bullpen.
Either way, Dobbins asserted himself as a big league depth option who seems like a near-lock to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason.
SOX YARNS
— The Red Sox released 22-year-old shortstop Brainer Bonaci following his year-long suspension for a violation of MLB’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.
— Righthander Richard Fitts, in a season-ending look in the big league rotation, became the second pitcher ever to open his career with three straight starts of at least five innings and zero earned runs allowed.
