Red Sox's surging 6-foot-7 hurler earns promotion; could be MLB bound

As the Boston Red Sox continue to astonish their competition at the major league level, one of their most intriguing pitching prospects is one step closer to joining the roster.

On Monday, Tommy Cassell of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported that 25-year-old right-hander Blake Wehunt had been promoted from the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs to the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, putting him one step from the big leagues in the middle of his best minor-league season.

Wehunt wasn't a hot prospect commodity entering the season, and he's still not one of the arms the Red Sox would necessarily project to be in their future rotation. But with the way he's thrown the ball this season, one at least has to say he's put himself in the discussion to make a major league debut either late this year or early next year.

Wehunt comes with a ton of upside

As of Monday, Wehunt was not included in MLB Pipeline's top 30 Red Sox prospects list (which is famously a few months behind the times unless it's just received an update). SoxProspects, which does a better job keeping up, has Wehunt ranked 17th in the farm system.

So what is there to like here? For one, Wehunt stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 240 pounds. The Red Sox have grown increasingly infatuated with size when it comes to pitching prospects and Wehunt, who was the ninth-round pick in 2023 (Chaim Bloom's last draft as chief baseball officer) was in some ways a trend-setter.

The major key to advancing as a pitcher, though, is command. And Wehunt went from walking 29 batters in 63 1/3 innings at Double-A last year to only 16 in 53 2/3 innings this year at the same level. That, plus a slight spike in his strikeout rate, enabled his ERA to fall from 5.68 to 3.52.

In some ways, Wehunt has reliever written all over him, even though he's worked as a starter throughout his minor-league career. But that could play to his advantage if the Red Sox find themselves short on righty bullpen arms within the next calendar year.

It's a big step forward, and now Wehunt has a big test to pass that will show the Red Sox what his future could hold in the majors.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/red-sox/onsi as Red Sox's Surging 6-Foot-7 Hurler Earns Promotion; Could Be MLB Bound.