Welcome again to our preview of 2026 Purple Sox beginning pitching. For those who missed the majority of the preview final week, test it out beneath.
Immediately, we flip our consideration to the again of the again of the rotation: the depth starters.
Now that we’ve been by way of the 9 pitchers who’re preventing for spots within the opening day rotation, we are able to flip our consideration to the depth. In idea, these 9 arms I already went by way of will make the majority of the begins for the Purple Sox this season. That is main league baseball we’re speaking about, although, and pitching accidents are certain to occur. Final season, 15 completely different pitchers began video games for the Purple Sox, and Brennan Bernardino was the one true “opener” they used. Come August, when the rotation has been by way of the wringer and is run down, search for one in every of these names to supply 5 innings or so.
Of the choices on this listing, Tyler Uberstine might be first in line to make a spot begin, though there are a number of pitchers forward of him (lined here and here).
Uberstine, who reached Triple-A final season, was added to the 40-man roster to guard him from the Rule 5 Draft this winter. Like many Purple Sox pitchers, he has a low launch level that creates a flat strategy angle for his mid-90s fastball. Over about 90 innings at Worcester, he struck out a really respectable 26% of hitters, however struggled with walks, handing out free passes at a 9.4% clip. He makes use of a number of breaking balls, together with his slider and changeup exhibiting essentially the most potential. His ceiling is probably going a back-of-the-rotation arm, however there’s nothing unsuitable with consuming innings to assist carry the load by way of a really lengthy season.
Jake Bennett is 6’6”, 235 kilos and throws together with his left hand. He has seven toes of extension. In his first Spring Coaching outing, his fastball averaged 95 mph and reached 98 mph. In line with SoxProspects, he has “superior command and management” of mentioned fastball.
My scouting report is predicated on the numbers and different folks’s scouting studies, however I’m shopping for all of the Jake Bennett inventory I can get. His finest secondary pitch is a changeup, which is able to neutralize righties, whereas he additionally has a slider and a curveball. He’ll combine in sinkers and cutters to refill the zone, and has a slider and a curveball as nicely. That’s six pitches from an enormous lefty who will get down the mound nicely. He’s no less than a back-of-the-rotation arm with an opportunity to be way more.
Whereas there’s an extended listing of pitchers forward of him for turns within the rotation, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Bennett knocking on the door of the majors for some leverage aid appearances late within the season. He’s the pitching prospect I’m most enthusiastic about.
After the ascent of Payton Tolle and Trey Yesavage, flying by way of the minor leagues is all the fad. As such, many have tabbed 2025 first-round choose Kyson Witherspoon to debut a 12 months after being drafted, regardless of not pitching within the minor leagues in 2025.
He has an enormous fastball that’s already as much as 97 mph in camp, together with a cutter and slider that he executes constantly. Fangraphs labeled his curveball and changeup as his nastiest pitches, however mentioned they want polish to be viable weapons. His excessive 70s curveball was described as “hitter-pantsing” when thrown within the filth. As a result of there are such a lot of names forward of him on the depth chart, I’m going to guess Witherspoon debuts in mid-2027, however crazier issues have occurred, and he’s a enjoyable title to observe going ahead.
Houck is the one man on this listing that we’ve seen in motion earlier than, however he’s final as a result of we received’t see him till September, if in any respect. He had Tommy John Surgical procedure final season after an unpleasant begin to his marketing campaign. He threw a baseball for the primary time this spring, however remains to be a good distance from returning to sport motion.
Whereas he would possibly fill some innings down the stretch, don’t count on Houck to turn into a key contributor. At his finest, Houck is within the zone with all the things he throws, retaining hitters on the again foot. His splitter is especially vital in opposition to left-handed hitters, and whereas it’s considerably of an anecdote, discovering a really feel for offspeed and breaking pitches appears to lag behind fastballs when coming back from TJS. I can’t help that proof, however I really feel like James Paxton mentioned it as soon as, and I’ve taken it as gospel. If Houck returns in 2026, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him in a aid function with a give attention to returning to the rotation in 2027.
