After years of indie ball, the lefty hurler debuted against the Yankees Saturday and looked quite promising.
Who is he and where did he come from?
He’s Zach Penrod, the new recipient of number 67. I never wanted to see another player wear this uniform again after Brandon Workman’s time in it, hoping the team would reverse retire it. (Writer’s note: I am aware the Connor Seabold and others have worn this number since 2017. I also realize this may be harsh on Workman, as I’d take even his second-worst season over, well… **gestures broadly at 2024 Red Sox bullpen.** But sill.)
Penrod was absolute nails in a small sample size in Greenville late last season, finishing out the year with a 2.18 ERA after starting the season with the Missoula PaddleHeads of the Pioneer League. He started in Portland earlier this season, was still nails, and slightly less nails in a VERY small sample size in Worcester over the last six weeks or so, and so the team is giving the 27-year-old a go at the Major League level. So to clarify, yes, he has about ~100 innings of minor league experience, counting a 2018-2019 run in the Rangers organization that unceremoniously ended due to Tommy John surgery, but make no mistake: Penrod is an exciting talent.
What position does he play?
He was a two-way player in Division II college ball. Recently, he’s been a pitcher, if you don’t count the 13 games he played in the outfield for the Walla Walla Sweets of the West Coast League in 2018. By the way, Penrod had a 1.61 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 28 innings that season. The lefty has had some less than stellar seasons even in indie ball, but only once has he had a season in which he averaged fewer than a strikeout an inning.
Is he any good?
This depends how much of a test you think teams such as the Grand Junction Jackalopes provide compared to Jazz Chisholm. On Saturday afternoon, Penrod made his Major League debut at Yankee Stadium, a long way from his hometown of Nampa, Idaho, and struck out Chisholm and Austin Wells. He then came out the next day and recorded two outs. He’s striking out more than a batter and a half per inning in 73 total innings across his three clubs in 2024, and has really calmed down his home run numbers, though he has some work to do on his control and walk rate. Even showing the control he HAS shown in a short amount of time is impressive, since his fastball now touches 99. My short answer is: he can’t be worse than the rest of this bullpen has been in the last six weeks or so, right?
Show me a cool highlight.
Here are those aforementioned strikeouts. That 89 mile an hour changeup a hair low on Chisholm was absolutely nasty, and indicative of the chasing Zach Penrod is known to inflict. The story gets better: Penrod’s wife gave birth to a baby girl on September 6. If that’s not the best month he’ll ever experience, I’d like the winning lottery numbers to whatever month is.
What’s he doing in his picture up there?
Inserting himself into a historic rivalry in a way that most guys from Nampa, Idaho can only dream of. Or, envisioning himself playing peek-a-boo with his newborn.
What’s his role on the 2024 Red Sox?
The Red Sox’s 2024 season is over. I can say that with some confidence since we’re now under .500, and, as Matt Gross details, in dangerous proximity to another last place finish even though we were in Wild Card range last week. So, given that, why not get a read on a guy who’s been meteorically tearing up batters at all levels and a guy who’s worked tirelessly on getting his velocity up? It’s worked to our advantage so far. At least something this September has.