With a new curveball in his arsenal, Bennett awaits call up to Red Sox
Article excerpt
Jake Bennett has spent the past month developing a new curveball, adding another weapon to his pitching arsenal while continuing to dominate hitters in Triple-A ball. The right-hander remains in limbo, waiting for the Red Sox to call him up to the major leagues. His improved pitch mix and strong performance at the minor-league level suggest he could be ready for the big leagues whenever Boston needs him.
WORCESTER, Jake Bennett was in the visitor’s bullpen in Rochester, New York on April 28 when WooSox pitching coach Dan DeLucia suggested that the 25-year-old left-handed pitcher started throwing a curveball.
“He needed more swing-and-miss weapons,” DeLucia said. “… He’s throwing a cutter, and just looking at the cutter, we thought he could throw a hard curveball that could maybe generate some more of that swing and miss.”
So, DeLucia drew a black dot on a baseball and told Bennett to grip it like his cutter. They monitored the movement on an iPhone from the bullpen.
“He nailed it right away,” DeLucia said.
Three days later, Bennett was called up to join the Boston Red Sox. The No. 6-ranked Red Sox prospect threw nine curveballs against the Houston Astros in his Major League Debut at Fenway Park on May 1.
Bennett (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K) picked up his first big-league win in the Red Sox’ 3-1 victory over the Astros.
“Throwing to Yordan Álvarez, (Jose) Altuve, I grew up watching these guys on TV and just to be able to go up and have success really shows you that you can compete at that level,” Bennett said.
“Pretty cool that he was able to take (the curveball) right into a game with only one bullpen of practicing it,” DeLucia said.
Bennett last threw a curveball in college; he attended the University of Oklahoma before being drafted by the Washington Nationals in the second round of the MLB Draft in 2022.
“It wasn’t very good,” said Bennett of his previous curveball.
Bennett was traded to the Boston Red Sox this past offseason in exchange for right-handed pitcher Luis Perales. The lefty has been better than advertised in nine starts for the Worcester Red Sox, going 3-2 with a 1.60 ERA and 41 strikeouts across 39.1 innings pitched.
Bennett also made one other start for the Boston Red Sox on May 7, going 5.1 innings and allowing 6 hits, 4 runs and 2 walks in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, before being sent back to AAA.
“It’s been pretty impressive,” DeLucia said. “To be able to go up and down, and just keep himself very non-emotional, even-keeled throughout that, and then along in doing that, the willingness to listen to us, trust us with more development opportunities, and then just go out there and say, ‘Sure, I trust you guys, I trust my stuff, I’ll go out and do what’s asked upon of the organization,’ I think that’s been as impressive as anything.”
“It’s a great feeling just to be able to come out and put it all together,” Bennett said.
Bennett has been back with the Worcester Red Sox for nearly a month now.
In his previous four Triple-A starts, the soft-spoken pitcher continued “pounding the zone” and “refining shapes” while waiting for the next call up to Boston. With Boston Red Sox right-handed starting pitcher Brayan Bello being demoted to Triple-A Worcester on Friday, Bennett could be in line to replace Bello in Boston’s starting rotation soon.
“He’s doing all he can do,” WooSox acting manager Iggy Suarez said. “He knows he’s good enough.”
“It would mean the world,” Bennett said. “It was a great opportunity the first time, and if they call my name again, (I’ll) try and do as much with it as I can.”
, Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Red Sox prospect Jake Bennett pitching well for Triple-A Worcester