Hunter Dobbins on 'great track' in 2024 with uptick in fastball velocity: 'I want to help the team in Boston this year'
Portland Sea Dogs pitcher Hunter Dobbins was born and raised in Texas and currently resides there during his offseason. He will also let you know that a fast food fried chicken chain called Chicken Express is the best thing since sliced bread.
While he mentioned that living in New England is a “complete 180” compared to living in Texas, he did say that it truly hasn’t been a horrible experience living in the Northeast.
Dobbins set some lofty goals for himself this offseason after finishing the 2023 season pitching in Portland’s starting rotation.
“I most likely won’t be hitting the innings goal I wanted to hit.” Dobbins said of his 150 inning goal. “After talking with heads of the pitching department, they want to keep us limited and rested so we aren’t worn out too much. My other goal of helping the team in Boston towards the end of the year, I think I am on track for that. We have taken some really big steps forward with the fastball velocity ticking up and the splitter being more consistent. I think we are on track for it and hopefully I can keep it up.”
Through 13 starts in 2024 for Portland, Dobbins has thrown 65.2 innings with a respectable 3.97 ERA.
“It has a little bit of a roller coaster this year.” Dobbins said. “It is the typical development ride when you change some things and work on stuff and there is always that dip in performance while you get used to it. Now I think I am on a great track making some good progress. My goal for the rest of the year is to stay settled into my routine that I have now and go out there being that guy that my teammates can count on. I always want to be the starter that might not have the flashiest stuff, but you will look up and see me be an innings eater that my guys can count on.”
The hitters in Portland have been talked about plenty this season and for good measure. Dobbins even got to share the rotation with top Red Sox pitching prospect Luis Perales for a bit before he went down with Tommy John surgery. The eyeballs that have been on that team has been a lot more than in years past, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise for someone to feel the pressure of it.
“When I got drafted by the Red Sox, I knew it would come with the territory.” Dobbins said of the added spotlights on Portland. “When you get put into an organization like Boston, the expectation is to win. There is a lot of fan and media coverage. There are eyes on you all the time. When you have teammates like Marcelo Mayer that you get to share the field with every day, there will always be people watching. At the end of the day, I really like interacting with fans and media.”
Portland saw Angel Bastardo and Perales both go down for the rest of the season in the past month and have seen Zach Penrod and Ryan Zeferjahn get called up to Triple-A Worcester. Dobbins is now a de facto leader on that pitching staff, and he does not take that role lightly.
“Even when the guys who we lost were still here, I try to be the same guy out here regardless.” Dobbins said. “Juan Encarnacion is one of the newest guys here, but I played with him when we were in Salem, so we are pretty close. When he has a rough day out there, I try to tell him that we all had the same issues when we first got here. Just take a breath and remember that you deserve to be here. Being one of the older guys, you have to be the calming voice in the locker room. The coaches and staff are supposed to tell you those things but when you hear it from a teammate, it just means more. I like to be that guy for them if they need me to and also be a little hard on them if they need that too.”
With 137 innings logged in Double-A, Dobbins is getting closer to a promotion to Triple-A Worcester. With that promotion comes all sorts of new challenges like the ABS system, more experienced hitters, and possibly bigger spotlights due to being one call away from the big leagues.
“I have thought about it a little bit.” Dobbins said of what’s next. “I am going to have to execute over the plate when I get up there. That has been something I have been working on all year. Our motto in the organization is ‘Throw nasty stuff in the zone’, so that has been my main focus in my bullpens. The quality of hitter is something I am not too worried about because I know I have the stuff that will play. I have faced a lot of guys in the past year who have been called up to the majors and performed. I know I can execute and get those guys out when I need to.”
