Red Sox pitching prospect Zach Penrod has been named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 13-19, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.
Penrod takes home the honor after impressing in his latest start for Double-A Portland this past Saturday. As part of a 2-1 win over the Somerset Patriots, the 26-year-old left-hander allowed just one earned run on one hit, three walks, and 10 strikeouts across six quality innings of work.
Penrod retired the first 14 batters he faced at TD Bank Ballpark before issuing a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth inning. He then gave up a leadoff single and issued two more walks to fill the bases with no outs in the sixth. Somerset pushed across one run on a sacrifice fly, but Penrod escaped any further damage by inducing back-to-back flyouts to get out of the jam and end his night on a more encouraging note.
Finishing with 90 pitches (59 strikes), Penrod recorded 25 swings-and-misses en route to earning the winning decision. The lefty is now 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA (2.95 FIP) and 44 strikeouts to 12 walks over six starts (30 innings) for Portland this season. He has put up those numbers while holding opposing hitters to a .173 batting average against.
Among 38 qualified pitchers in the Eastern League to this point in the year, Penrod ranks first in strikeouts per nine innings (13.2), swinging-strike rate (17.1 percent), and xFIP (2.59), second in strikeout rate (37.3 percent), third in batting average against, fourth in WHIP (1.00), fifth in ERA, and ninth in FIP, per FanGraphs.
Penrod, who turns 27 next month, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 29 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 12th among pitchers in the organization. The Red Sox originally signed the Idaho native out of the independent Pioneer League last August. He had previous experience in affiliated ball after signing with the Rangers as an undrafted free agent out of Division II Northwest Nazarene University in 2018, but has really put himself on the map this time around.
Since making his organizational debut nine months ago, Penrod has compiled a 2.13 ERA and 3.39 FIP with 64 strikeouts to 23 walks in 10 starts (50 2/3 innings) between High-A Greenville and Portland. He helped the Drive win the South Atlantic League championship last September and was then recognized as an All-Star in the 2023 Arizona Fall League.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Penrod throws from a three-quarters arm slot. As noted by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier and SoxProspects.com’s Ian Cundall, the southpaw operates with a 94-95 mph fastball that has topped out at 97 mph, an 85-88 mph changeup, and an 84-87 mph slider.
Given the success he has enjoyed with Portland so far this season, it certainly seems as though Penrod could be nearing a promotion to Triple-A Worcester. There are some questions about what role (starter or multi-inning reliever) he is best suited for moving forward, but he has nonetheless emerged as an intriguing within the system.
(Picture of Zach Penrod: Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
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