Josh Pennington Stats & Scouting Report

IP	113
ERA	2.389
WHIP	1.168
BB/9	4.062
SO/9	8.283

Full name Josh Steven Pennington
Born 07/06/1995 in Cape May, NJ
Profile Ht.: 6'0" / Wt.: 190 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Lower Cape May
Drafted in the 29th round (884th overall) by the Boston Red Sox in 2014 (signed for $90,000).

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Pennington entered the spring as one of the top arms in the Northeast, especially after his electric outing at last summer's Metropolitan Baseball Classic, but then he had Tommy John surgery. He had shown a 91-93 mph fastball this spring from a high three-quarters arm slot. He gets extension out front and the ball jumps out of his hand. Wiry, flexible and athletic, Pennington has one of the quickest arms in the class. His breaking ball also flashes above-average potential, and his changeup flashed average. He is a live-bodied 6-foot, 173-pounder with some strength to his lower half and is committed to St. John's.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

The Brewers acquired Pennington and two others from the Red Sox after the 2016 season for Tyler Thornburg. Pennington had surgery to remove a bone chip from his elbow and was not be ready at the start of the 2017 season. That procedure was in addition to the Tommy John surgery he had as a high school senior that caused him to plummet to the 29th round in 2014. Pennington had a setback in 2017 that delayed his return until late June, but after a brief outing in the Rookie-level Arizona League, he acquitted himself well with a 2.97 ERA in nine starts at low Class A Wisconsin. Pennington has a big fastball in the mid- to high 90s with solid command. An upper-70s curveball has the potential to be a plus secondary pitch, but he still needs to work on his changeup. Considering his physical setbacks, he showed better control than expected. If Pennington improves his secondary pitches, he has a chance to remain a starter despite his slight frame, and the Brewers plan to keep him in that role. He is tentatively ticketed for high Class A Carolina.
Pennington represented one of themore intriguing Northeastern prep arms entering the 2014 season because of his 89-92 mph fastball that produced plenty of swings and misses. However, he blew out his elbow in the third start of his senior year, resulting in his availability in the 29th round. Pennington signed with the Red Sox for $90,000 and spent the 2014 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Boston traded him to the Brewers along with shortstop Mauricio Dubon and third baseman Travis Shaw at the 2016 Winter Meetings for reliever Tyler Thornburg. When Pennington returned to the mound in 2015, he did so featuring premium arm strength. He typically pitched at 94-99 mph in 2016 while dominating at times at short-season Lowell, where he recorded a 2.86 ERA with 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings. His secondary pitches remain raw and inconsistent, but the righthander shows the potential for an above-average curveball and average changeup, offering starter potential if he can harness those weapons and more consistently throw strikes. He walked 4.3 per nine in 2016. Pennington's delivery is sufficiently clean and repeatable, though he had surgery after the 2016 season to remove a bone chip from his elbow. If everything clicks, he has mid-rotation starter potential and a floor as a possible power reliever.
Pennington looked like one of the top prep arms in the Northeast in 2014, but a torn ulnar collateral ligament in April shut down his season and left him on the board in the 29th round. His pro unveiling in 2015 after a year spent rehabbing from Tommy John surgery suggested a potential steal. Pennington forged a 0.82 ERA with a strikeout an inning in seven games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, a prelude to an instructional league performance in which his stuff was among the most impressive on display among Red Sox pitchers. The slight righthander, whose fastball registered at 94-97 mph, showed the ability to spin a curveball in a fashion that suggests a potential future average pitch and some feel for a changeup. He'll be developed as a starter to give him a chance to tap into his considerable potential. At this point, he's a wild card (a notion underscored by his 13 walks in 22 innings in the GCL), but the ease with which he was able to show premium stuff offers the possibility that he could elevate his prospect stock considerably if he can get on the mound for a full, healthy season.

Draft Prospects

Pennington entered the spring as one of the top arms in the Northeast, especially after his electric outing at last summer's Metropolitan Baseball Classic, but then he had Tommy John surgery. He had shown a 91-93 mph fastball this spring from a high three-quarters arm slot. He gets extension out front and the ball jumps out of his hand. Wiry, flexible and athletic, Pennington has one of the quickest arms in the class. His breaking ball also flashes above-average potential, and his changeup flashed average. He is a live-bodied 6-foot, 173-pounder with some strength to his lower half and is committed to St. John's.

Minor League Top Prospects

The Red Sox took a chance on Pennington in the 29th round in 2014 even though the righthander had Tommy John surgery just before the draft. That pick is looking more prudent now. After a superb 2-1, 0.82 pro debut in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2015, he continued to showcase electric stuff in the NYP. Despite his slight 6-foot, 175-pound frame, Pennington generates premium 94-98 mph velocity due to his quick arm action. He pairs the pitch with an upper-70s curveball that flashes above-average potential but lacks consistency and a firm work-in-progress changeup. At present, he pitches primarily off of his fastball, which he's still learning to command, as evidenced by a walk rate of 4.3 per nine innings. Pennington has plenty of arm strength, but he could end up as a late-inning reliever depending on the development of his command and his inconsistent secondary offerings. For the time being, the Red Sox are grooming him as a starter.