The Red Sox are promoting pitching prospect Blake Wehunt from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, as was first reported by Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster.
Wehunt, 23, is on the move for the second time this year. The right-hander opened his first full professional season at Low-A Salem, forging a 2.16 ERA (2.76 FIP) with 44 strikeouts to 15 walks in eight starts (33 1/3 innings) for the Red Sox before receiving a promotion to Greenville in early June.
In 13 starts for the Drive, Wehunt posted a 4.42 ERA and 3.57 FIP with 65 strikeouts to 19 walks over 59 innings. That includes a 2.37 ERA (2.82 FIP) in his last four outings (19 innings) dating back to August 16. Opposing hitters batted just .143 against him in that stretch.
Among the 84 pitchers who came into play Sunday having thrown at least 55 innings in the South Atlantic League this season, Wehunt ranks 19th in WHIP (1.10), 23rd in batting average against (.213), 26th in walks per nine innings (2.90) and xFIP (3.66), 27th in FIP, 28th in walk rate (7.8 percent), 38th in strikeout rate (26.7 percent), 39th in groundball rate (41.8 percent), and 41st in strikeouts per nine innings (9.92), per FanGraphs.
Wehunt, who turns 24 in November, was originally selected by the Red Sox in the ninth round of last year’s draft out of Kennesaw State. The Georgia native signed for $100,000 and marked his pro debut by making a scoreless relief appearance in the Florida Complex League. He is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 34 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 17th among pitchers in the organization.
Standing at an imposing 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, Wehunt throws from a three-quarters arm slot and incorporates a high leg kick into his delivery. As noted by SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall, who saw Wehunt pitch in Greenville on August 22, the burly righty sits between 93-94 mph and reaches 96 mph with his fastball. He can also mix in an 87-89 mph cutter, an 81-86 mph sweeping slider, and an 84-86 mph splitter.
Wehunt is slated to join a rotation mix in Portland that includes the likes of Wikelman Gonzalez, Juan Encarnacion, Connelly Early, David Sandlin, and Isaac Coffey. While Greenville’s season ended on Sunday, the Sea Dogs have six games remaining on their schedule and currently hold a 1 1/2-game lead in their division.
(Picture of Blake Wehunt: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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