Hunter Dobbins to start for the Spring Sox.
It’s kids day again as the Red Sox hit the road to face the Orioles in Sarasota. Alex Bregman is the only notable veteran making the 90-minute trip up the coast, and he’ll anchor a lineup loaded with prospects and other young players still looking to establish themselves.
There’s a kid on the mound, too: Hunter Dobbins, the Texas fireballer who put up a 2.61 ERA in four starts with Worcester after being promoted at the end of the 2024 season. At 25-years old, Dobbins has never had that much hype as a prospect. But he’s got a big arsenal and I’ve always thought of him as the type of guy who could quietly find his way into the big leagues and then stay there for the next decade as a solid rotation piece.
Keep on eye on his velocity today. His fastball mostly sat in the mid-90s last year, but he showed some increase zip in his first spring outing. As Richard Fitts showed us recently, increased zip has become something of a theme amongst Sox pitchers this spring.
First pitch is at 1:05 and the game, mercifully, is on NESN as well as MLB.TV