Hunter Dobbins is the latest dark horse prospect for the Red Sox
This season, many eyes have been pointed at Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel, all of whom fall under Major League Baseball Pipeline’s top 100 prospects. Many people haven’t been talking about the achievements of the other players around them.
Few have been discussing Red Sox pitching prospect Hunter Dobbins’ success this season. In six starts at Double-A Portland this season, Dobbins is 3-1 with a 3.77 ERA. The Sea Dogs have been stacked with incredible pitching depth this season. Dobbins knows there’s incredible talent throughout the roster and uses those assets to his advantage.
“We’re all close,” Dobbins said. “We’re all building off each other and it’s just a lot of fun.”
Dobbins has gotten a lot of help from his teammates in the Portland rotation. Whether it’s a simple conversation or everyone wearing the same pair of shoes when they aren’t pitching, they all have a close relationship with each other.
“We definitely push each other,” Dobbins said. “We demand the best out of each other as well at the same time. We definitely have a wide variety of styles. You go from me, I'm the right-handed over the top. Then you got Wilks [Wikelman Gonzalez], kind of the funky leg, hip movement and kind of whippy arm. [Zach Penrod], lefty. [Cutter Coffey], sidearm. You really get a whole big mix when it comes to us and I think that helps us to keep guys and lineups off balance.”
Dobbins has worked to build relationships with his catchers, especially Teel. Although he has only pitched to Teel just a handful of times, he is well aware that Teel wants him to succeed and is looking forward to continuing to develop a relationship with him.
“He works hard back there, he’s not going to take a pitch off,” Dobbins said. “He’s going to get the most out of you.”
The Red Sox organization has helped Dobbins significantly. The impact of chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s new philosophy has made it down to the minor leagues. They have changed Dobbins’ pitching repertoire this season by changing the way some of his pitches are thrown and by adding a new cutter.
Dobbins loves the support he’s getting from the Portland pitching staff. One coach in particular, Sean Isaac, really cares for his pitchers and takes the time to make Dobbins the best pitcher he can.
“Every time we go out there for a bullpen, [Isaac] has got a detailed sheet of what we need to accomplish,” Dobbins said. “He’s really getting the best out of all of us.”
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