Red Sox right-handed pitching prospect Hunter Dobbins received the phone call from the director of player development Brian Abraham last Tuesday. Abraham told him the good news: Boston added Dobbins to its 40-man roster before the deadline to protect players eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.

“They put you on the 40-man because they expect me to be able to help the big league team this year,” Dobbins said. “So it opened my eyes and realized that I had to be willing to help the team in any way I could – whether it was starting, in the bullpen or whatever. It definitely opened my eyes and made me focus even more than I already was.

Baseball America ranks the 25-year-old as Boston’s 21st prospect. He won Red Sox 2024 Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year after posting a 3.08 batting average, 1.26 WHIP and .237 in 25 starts for Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester.

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Dobbins throws hard, sitting at 95-97 mph as a starting pitcher. THE Red Sox to have developed significant starting pitching depth to Triple-A and could use Dobbins, with his high-end velo, out of the bullpen early in his career the same way they did with Kutter Crawford And Tanner Houck. Crawford impressed so much during 2022 spring training that he made the Opening Day team as a reliever. He worked his way into the rotation in July.

Dobbins has experience as a reliever. Fifteen of his 20 appearances at Texas Tech came out of the bullpen.

“Honestly, I would be really comfortable with that,” Dobbins said. “My first year at Texas Tech, I was completely out of the bullpen and made a few starts here and there, which I think would be my role this year. Then my sophomore year, I would come out of the bullpen on the weekends and start on Wednesdays. So it was another year of doing both. Really, the only time I’ve been a full-time starter was in pro ball.

Sixty-one of Dobbins’ 62 appearances in the Red Sox minor league system were starts.

“I’ve always been a guy, whether I’m coming out of the bullpen or starting, I like to have the same mentality and the same approach to everything,” Dobbins said.

Dobbins enjoys training with other pitchers. He worked with other prospects Richard Fitts, David Sandlin And Isaac Coffey last offseason. He said having the chance to attend major league camp for the first time in February will be a great opportunity to work side by side with experienced pitchers like Houck, Crawford, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito and, as he said, “whoever it is.” add).” The Red Sox are in the market to add a rotation outpost this offseason.

“And also working with (the pitching coach) Andrew Bailey” added Dobbins of what he’s looking forward to in February. “I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress over the last couple of years to become a really good version of myself, but I think we saw what Andrew Bailey can do and unlocked some things that guys didn’t even know they had. . So I’m really looking forward to it.

Perhaps Dobbins’ most impressive stat in 2024 is that he has allowed just two home runs in 125 ⅔ innings.

“I honestly didn’t really pay attention to it,” Dobbins said of his miniscule 0.1 strikeouts per nine innings. “I don’t think I’ve ever been a guy that gave up a lot of home runs. I think this year was really the first year where I felt at my best.

Dobbins missed his senior year at Texas Tech because of Tommy John surgery. Boston then drafted him in the eighth round in 2021 and it is believed that he dropped several rounds because he was getting out of procedure.

The 2022 season was his first year back from injury and he made just 17 starts (69 innings) with his first coming two months into the season. He then battled symptoms of dizziness during 2023 spring training, a setback he said prevented him from starting the season the way he wanted. He also said he was more focused on his development in ’23.

“Last year was one of those where we pretty much knew what my arsenal was going to be,” Dobbins said. “I really focused on developing those (pitches) and then being able to attack hitters that way. It really helped me to say, ‘I’m going to go after these guys.’ I know my business is good. And I’m not going to be afraid, for lack of a better term. So I think having kind of that mentality of going straight at guys – and having a five-pitch mix doesn’t hurt either – it kind of keeps hitters off-balance to the point where they don’t couldn’t get their A swing that much.”

In addition to his hard fastball, he also throws a splitter, sweeper, cutter (also known as a gyro slider), and curveball. It has a newer splitting grip and the pitch plays like a splinkera hybrid between a separator and a lead.

He had an impressive 55.6% ground ball rate in his last four starts following his promotion to Worcester. He also had 22 strikeouts in 20 ⅔ innings (9.6 strikeouts per nine innings).

“Once we got to Worcester, the splinker really improved,” Dobbins said. “So having something that would go toward righties, away from lefties.”

He said his cutter — which is more of an 88 to 91 mph gyroscopic slider — working with his splinker has helped increase his ground ball percentage.

“With those two pitches really complementing each other, I think I was able to kind of miss the barrels below the barrel and also get that weaker contact and be able to throw low in the zone,” he declared. “Because before the slinker, I was a four-seam guy and a curve guy. And that usually leads to more fly balls. But having the splinker and that sharper slider allowed me to keep the ball out of the air a little more.

As Baseball America wrote, “Although his strikeout rate was modest, he avoided the barrels, allowing only two home runs.”

“I definitely think now that I’m not playing with my arsenal this offseason, I can really perfect these pitches. I expect the K par 9 to go up a little bit,” Dobbins said. “My core philosophy and belief as the pitcher that I am is that I’m not really the guy that chases strikeouts. I’m not going to try to hit the world. I’m going to live off soft contact because ultimately I want to throw 12 to 15 pitches per inning. That way you look up and you still see me out there in the sixth, seventh inning.

Dobbins thought there was a good chance the Red Sox would put him on the roster. Otherwise, he thought there would be a good chance he would be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

“I tried my best not to think about it and focus on it as much,” Dobbins said. “But it was definitely one of them, it was a big relief when I saw Abe’s number come up because I love the group of guys that I’m with. And so it’s going to be very fun to be able to stay with guys like Marcelo (Mayer) and all these guys that I met. So definitely a load when I got the call.

Hunter, the hunter

What does Dobbins do in his free time outside of baseball?

“You can find me either playing golf or hunting and fishing,” he said. “I grew up a bit in the countryside, there, I did outdoor activities with my father and my little brother. So I still love doing that. I feel like it keeps me grounded and reminds me of where I came from. But I also feel like if I wasn’t a pitcher, I would definitely try to make it in the PGA because I never get tired of golf.

Keep an eye on Early

Baseball America classy left-handed pitching prospect Connelly early as having both the best change and the best curve in the system.

MassLive recently listed Early as one of nine prospects who have a chance to make their MLB debut in 2025.

He averaged 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings in 23 starts (103 ⅔ innings) combined between Greenville and Portland last season. The 2023 fifth-rounder from Virginia has struck out 30.8% of the batters he faced. Opponents hit just .214 against him.

BA releases Red Sox Top 10

Baseball America has released its 2025 Red Sox Top 10 Prospects List Monday. He classifies Christian Campbell — the newest member of Boston’s Big Four — No. 2 behind Romain Antoine and ahead of Marcelo Mayer (n°3) and Kyle Teel (No. 4).