Hayden Mullins: From Red Sox fan to Auburn star—A journey of perseverance
Growing up in Gallatin, Tennessee, Hayden Mullins followed two teams, the Braves and the Red Sox. Little did he know that one day, he would begin his professional baseball career pitching in the system for a team he idolized.
The 24-year-old grew up watching Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, and J.D. Drew and following the 2007 championship team.
“The two guys that got me into baseball, my buddies that grew up down the street, Matthew and Andrew Doris, they are huge baseball fans, split family," said Mullins. "One half was Cubs, and one half was Red Sox. I just favored the Red Sox a little bit more, watching Pedroia, JD Drew, and all those guys. It was awesome. So they got me into baseball, and that's what kept it going. I just started following the Red Sox.”
Mullins played basketball as a kid but decided to focus strictly on baseball. While in high school, he looked at three schools where he could play collegiate baseball: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Auburn. All three schools wanted the 6-foot southpaw, and for good reason. Mullins was rated No. 38 overall and No. 4 left-handed pitcher in the 2019 class by Perfect Game, and the top lefty and No. 2 overall player in Tennessee.
“I had the offer, I think, for about a year,” said Mullins on deciding where to play collegiate baseball while on the “To the Show We Go” Baseball Podcast. After all the recruiting process was over and it was dying down, I sat down, looked at my options, and loved everything about Auburn.”
Mullins played three seasons for the Auburn Tigers, posting a 5-1 record over 23 with a 3.38 ERA and 72 strikeouts. He went 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 11 outings that included eight starts with 43 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings his junior season.
During that junior season, Mullins tore his UCL, putting his draft stock in jeopardy.
“I was trending upward, throwing well, got a couple of spot starts, and then moved into the rotation towards the middle of the year,” said Mullins. “I think April 29th, it was our weekend series against Tennessee, I tore my UCL. And from then on, I was like, ‘Man, I don't know if I'm going to have a chance,’ but I wouldn't be able to pitch the next year for Auburn. I kind of took my chance and took whatever I could get in the draft.
“I actually partially tore it first. I came out of that Friday game in the second inning. Just felt like everything in my forearm and arm really just tightened up, and I couldn't squeeze my hand and all of that stuff. I went through that and then tried to rehab it, tried to come back, and popped it in a bullpen.
"It was just kind of like, this isn't going to work. We have to go and get the surgery. I mean, it was hanging on by a thread in the first place. I was going to have to get the surgery anyways. Might as well keep pitching and see where it goes,” Mullins added.
The potential of the next pitch being the last one he would throw and a sustaining a major injury was always was on Mullins mind.
“It's a tough thought in the back of your mind whenever you're throwing a baseball, and every pitch like this could be my last one until I have to get a new elbow," Mullins said. "It's definitely tough, but just like everything, you got to get through it and see what happens on the other side.”
With not knowing what his future looked like, Mullins was concerned whether any team would draft him following Tommy John surgery. Instead, just about every team in the majors showed interest in the lefty, easing his concerns heading into the 2022 MLB Draft.
“I had a pretty interesting story of going through that whole process,” said Mullins. “Going into my senior year, I talked to almost all the teams, I think, 28 or 29, something like that, had all the in-home meetings and everything, and then got to spring and got hurt, and that was it, off to college.”
Remember earlier on when Mullins grew up rooting for two teams, the Braves and the Red Sox? While being courted by big league teams, the Red Sox began to emerge as serious suitors for Mullins, holding meetings with him leading up to the draft.
“On the third day, I think they were one of the first teams I talked to,” said Mullins. “I got on a Zoom with who's now our head of training down here, Joel Harris, and got on a Zoom with him and a couple of the pitching coordinators.
“I was in the elbow brace just sitting there, all propped up, trying to be as comfortable as possible. And they're going through all these draft questions. And I went through it, and I thought it went well. I think two, two and a half days later, I got the call.”
Mullins got the call alright; the Red Sox selected him with the 369th overall pick in the 12th round, signing with Boston for $97,500. He would miss all of 2022, and he’d make his pro debut in late August of 2023, pitching in four games.
“I think whenever anybody gets Tommy John, the first thought is like, ‘Oh, not going to be able to throw for 12 months, not going to be able to do this,” said Mullins. “My first thought after getting drafted was, I get to work with the best in the world at what they do. And whether it's Kevin Avila, (Joel) Harris, or any of the trainers or strength coaches down here, they all put in all the work for us. mean, they do everything for us.”
In 22 appearances for Greenville this season, Mullins recorded a 3.94 ERA and a 4.12 FIP with 118 strikeouts to 42 walks over 89 innings. Among the 27 pitchers who tossed at least 85 frames in the South Atlantic League this season, Mullins ranked second in strikeouts per nine innings (11.93), third in swinging-strike rate (15.1 percent), and fourth in strikeout rate (30.3 percent), per FanGraphs.
The lefty’s fastball sits between 91-94 mph and tops out at 95 mph. He also mixes in an 81-85 mph sweeping slider and a deceptive 83-85 mph changeup, according to his SoxProspects scouting report. His fastball has a lot of swing-and-miss action; despite that, Mullins just focuses on getting the ball in the zone.
“I haven't really ever worked on trying to develop more swing and miss or trying to get more chase out of any particular pitch,” said Mullins.
“It's always been get it in the zone, and that's what we're preaching here: throw everything through the heart of the zone, but have it move wherever it moves. So yeah, that's been the focus. But never really trying to create swing and miss. Just let the swing and miss create itself.”
With Tommy John surgery behind him, Mullins didn’t lose any velocity on his fastball, but he’s feeling different on the mound.
“I wouldn't say throwing harder, but definitely feeling different," said Mullins. "The command was the last thing to come back, still working on that a little bit. But yeah, the ball just feels different in the hand, the arm swing, everything about the throwing motion; you have to relearn it. So definitely a different feeling.”
Out of all his pitches in his arsenal, his fastball is his favorite weapon when trying to strikeout opposing hitters.
“I feel like I am more confident in that than anything else in the zone,” said Mullins. “Whether it's cutter or sweeper, it's harder to get in the zone, whether it moves a lot or not or whatever it is, but fastball has always been there.”
His fastball allows him to pair it with his other pitches and get a high swing-and-miss rate. He finished with the fourth highest strikeout percentage (30.3%) among Red Sox minor league pitchers who faced at least 300 batters in 2024.
Mullins is just one of a handful of pitchers in the Red Sox system that has swing-and-miss stuff, which is becoming one of the organization's key focuses amongst their pitching development program. The lefty will enter the 2025 season as a dark horse breakout candidate who could quickly ascend through the system like other pitchers last season.
