Tanner Houck has had a troublesome begin to his 2024 season. Previous to happening the injured listing in mid-Might with an elbow pressure, the 28-year-old Boston Pink Sox right-hander logged an 8.04 ERA over 9 principally tumultuous outings. His observe report exhibits that he’s much better. Houck’s year-to-year consistency has been a bit on the uneven facet, however he nonetheless possesses a 3.97 ERA and a 3.71 FIP since reaching the massive leagues in 2020. Final season was his greatest. A mainstay in Boston’s rotation, he made a career-high 30 begins and put up 3.9 WAR and a 3.12 ERA.
His future function was in query when our 2019 Pink Sox High Prospects listing was revealed in January of that yr. As Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel defined on the time, some scouts most popular the twenty fourth total decide within the 2017 draft as a starter, whereas others noticed him as a reliever. Our prospect analyst duo ranked the College of Missouri product fifth within the system and assigned him a 40+ FV.
What did Houck’s 2019 FanGraphs scouting report appear like? Furthermore, what does he give it some thought all these years later? Wanting to search out out, I shared a few of what Eric and Kiley wrote and requested Houck to answer it.
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“Houck was a projection prep arm from Illinois whose worth was simply excessive sufficient to get him to Missouri.”
“I dedicated to Mizzou pretty early within the course of,” defined Houck, who was born in St. Louis and attended highschool in close by Collinsville, Illinois. “I actually wasn’t a giant prospect. I used to be solely throwing 84-87 [mph] on the time. In order that was in all probability a good judgement. I positively grew up and obtained stronger. I stuffed out my body a bit of bit.
“I used to be at all times open to going to professional ball out of highschool,” Houck stated of his resolution to go the faculty route. “However coming from a household of educators, they form of preached to me from an early age you could’t take away training. When the value wasn’t proper for me, it was simple sufficient to show it down and go to highschool.”
“He had a giant freshman yr there after which had a nationwide coming-out celebration because the ace of Workforce USA that summer time.”
“Wanting again, I might say that my freshman yr was my greatest yr in school,” Houck stated. “After which I did get the privilege of taking part in on that Workforce USA crew. I used to be with numerous gifted people there.”
“Slinging in a heavy, 91-96 mph sinker from a low slot with a misleading, crossfire supply.”
“Yep,” the right-hander agreed. “Nonetheless fairly correct, though I’ve cleaned up the supply since then. In case you return and watch, you’ll see that I’m on the identical spot on the rubber that I’m now, however I landed even additional closed. That was one thing I positively needed to clear up, for consistency’s sake.”
“Scouts who weren’t as captivated with Houck’s changeup, or arm slot, or the size of his arm motion, noticed a reliever.”
“Yeah, I knew that I used to be form of combating an uphill battle, solely actually being a two-pitch pitcher in school,” Houck stated. “It was two-seam [and] slider. The changeup I might flash right here and there, possibly at a 5% clip. Realistically, it was simple for scouts to say that I might be a reliever. However I at all times knew that I had the power to begin, that I had the power and the mentality to begin. I by no means let that [opinion] get in my head.”
“The Pink Sox had Houck change his supply and arm motion for the primary half-dozen or so begins in 2018, specializing in a extra conventional four-seam fastball method. It didn’t work.”
“I imply, it was a superb experiment,” Houck stated of the in the end shelved effort, which he addressed right here at FanGraphs in Might 2019. “I realized loads. Whereas I do nonetheless throw the four-seam sometimes, the arm slot obtained a bit of too excessive and I obtained inconsistent with my supply. I simply couldn’t throw strikes that means.
“The sport was additionally in that realm of four-seams up and curveballs within the grime on the time,” Houck added. “The sport ultimately flipped again over to the place we see much more sinker-slider now. However yeah, that was fairly correct; I positively struggled. Then I went again to the place I’m now, and the remainder is historical past.”
“We expect the doubtless end result here’s a multi-inning energy reliever who dominates righties with strikeouts and groundballs, although some see a starter within the mould of Justin Masterson.”
“Like I stated, I at all times checked out myself as a starter; I by no means noticed myself as a reliever,” stated Houck, who apart from 2022 has pitched virtually completely within the Pink Sox rotation. “I did relieve for many of that one yr, however the mindset was at all times to get again to beginning, to succeed in the 200-inning mark and lead the pitching employees. I had some nice veterans as teammates my first few years right here, with Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, and Garrett Richards. Seeing how they went about their enterprise was a terrific studying lesson for me in what it takes to be a giant league starter.
“My favourite pitcher rising up was at all times A.J. Burnett, one other sinkerballer man, however [Masterson] is a reasonably good comp, for certain.”
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Earlier “Outdated Scouting Stories Revisited” interviews could be discovered by way of these hyperlinks: Cody Bellinger, Matthew Boyd, Dylan Stop, Matt Chapman, Erick Fedde, Kyle Freeland, Lucas Giolito, Randal Grichuk, Ian Happ, Jeff Hoffman, Matthew Liberatore, Sean Newcomb, Bailey Ober, Austin Riley, Joe Ryan, Max Scherzer, Marcus Semien.