"Frickin’ Cy Young" - Garrett Whitlock talks Red Sox teammate Tanner Houck’s 'ceiling' after stellar start to 2024 season
The Boston Red Sox stitched together consecutive wins against the Chicago Cubs to clinch the three-game series after another dominant performance from Tanner Houck.
Tanner Houck's emergence as a dominant starter has been one of the stories of the Red Sox's 2024 season. The 27-year-old righty, who was a fringe player last year, has intimidated hitters with his control from the mound.
An underwhelming 2023 season compounded by a facial fracture had put Houck's Red Sox future in jeopardy. But a resounding start to the 2024 season has prompted his teammate Garrett Whitlock to make a bold claim for the in-form pitcher.
“What’s his ceiling? Frickin’ Cy Young. Seriously,” Whitlock said.
Whitlock claimed that Houck is finally displaying the caliber that made him the Red Sox's first draft pick in 2017. Whitlock, who is currently placed on the 15-day injured list due to an oblique injury, feels that at his current pace, the 27-year-old starter could rack up a few Cy Young awards before finishing his MLB career.
“He’s an ace. There’s no way around it. When he’s pitching like this, guys can see it. When he’s throwing like that and going six or seven innings every time out, that’s a natural-born ace.
"The way his stuff moves and the uncomfortable at-bats, it would not surprise me at all if he had a Cy Young or two by the time his career’s over.”
Alex Cora hails Tanner Houck's turnaround to fortify Red Sox's rotation
Tanner Houck has been instrumental in the Red Sox's 2024 season so far and was at his dominant best in the 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs in the series decider on Sunday at Fenway Park.
“I think everybody envisioned this in the past,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “When he got called up in 2020, there was a lot of talk about him. I remember watching on TV being like, ‘Man, he looks the part.’"
Cora reverberated Garrett Whitlock's sentiments as Houck struck out hitters, allowing just four hits in 6.2 innings from the mound on Sunday. Houck etched his name into the baseball lore after the Red Sox pitcher threw a Maddux to shut the Cleveland Guardians over nine innings in 94 pitches on April 17.
The Red Sox starter is one of the prime candidates for the American League Pitcher of the Month after his prolific start and the team will expect more of the same from the ace in coming months.