Sea Dogs starter Hunter Dobbins impresses while waiting for his opportunity to pitch for the WooSox
With everyone talking about the “Big 3,” who were just promoted to Triple-A Worcester, others with the Portland Sea Dogs are continuing to impress with the hopes of getting their chance with the WooSox before the season ends.
Right-hander Hunter Dobbins dazzled again on Wednesday night, giving up two hits and one walk while striking out three over six scoreless frames. He threw 85 pitches, 55 for strikes, while also inducing 12 swing-and-misses during the outing.
While the numbers have looked good, Dobbins is still stuck in Portland, waiting for his chance. This season, the Texas Tech alum is 7-3 with a 3.36 ERA, 91 strikeouts, and 38 walks with a 1.26 WHIP in 99 innings of work. The Red Sox are aware of how well he’s pitching, while also acknowledging that Dobbins and others need to follow their development plan to get them to the next level.
In a recent interview on the Down in the Dugout Podcast, presented by Beyond the Monster, Dobbins said he has been working on improving splitter.
“We actually changed it up again about three weeks ago,” said Dobbins. “It was actually Somerset's first time with the new one. I guess the new term of it is Splinker. Yeah. I'm throwing it about 88 to 91 (mph), sometimes almost 92 (mph), with a lot better movement. So that's definitely been a big swing and miss pitch over the last few weeks.
And then we just switched over to a sweeper as well. That's going to compliment it. So it's took a big step forward.”
The Red Sox want to see Dobbins hit 98 mph on his heater, and over the last three weeks, the righty has been sitting between 95 and 98 mph. Dobbins hopes to consistently hit 98 mph in the coming weeks. One plan is for him to pitch out of the bullpen and possibly even close games before the year is out.
“Feeling really good. Fastball the last three weeks has been sitting 95 to 98. So that's taking a big Velo jump. Commanding it well. The splinker, like I said, 88 to 91. Really be able to get swing miss from both sides of the plate,” said Dobbins.
As he continues to refine his splitter and add velocity to his fastball, Dobbins is also working to add a bullet slider, which he says is more of a “shorter, sharper slider.”
The talent is undeniable for Dobbins, and as the big league club continues to get help from the WooSox to fill out their rotation and bullpen, he could offer versatility if he gets the call. The WooSox could use him as a starter or a bulk-innings reliever down the stretch. Dobbins earning an opportunity will be an important test for him to highlight his pitching arsenal before spring training next year.
Dobbins is doing all the right things on the mound and is working hard to get his chance to play at Polar Park. For him and others, it’s just a waiting game.
