Josh Pennington

[mabrowndog]

Joshua Pennington
 

 
Pitcher
6'0", 185 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
DOB: 7/06/1995
Hometown: Cape May, NJ
High School: Lower Cape May Regional (NJ)
Acquired: 29th round of 2014 draft (#884 overall)
Signed by: Ray Fagnant
Bonus: $90,000
 
Baseball-Reference page
SoxProspects profile
Perfect Game profile
MLB.com Draft Report (video)
Twitter account (@J_Penns5)
 
Additional pics:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 
 
* Tore his UCL on 4/14/2014, 2 months ahead of the draft:
 

An overwhelming flow of emotions swept over Lower Cape May Regional High School pitcher Josh Pennington on Monday.
 

Pennington and the Caper Tigers have spent the week in Myrtle Beach, S.C., as part of the Cal Ripken Experience.
 


The St. John's University recruit was warming up in the bullpen to pitch against a team from Elmira (N.Y.) when he felt a pop in his right elbow.


Pennington immediately went to his catcher, Dom Catanoso, and told him he blew out his elbow.
 


"I walked into the dugout and sat down, and I couldn't control my emotions," Pennington said on the phone Tuesday. "I felt like everything I worked for went out the window. It was hard for me.
 


"The worst-case scenarios were running through my head - what happens now with college and the draft and my baseball career in the future?"


Pennington had the elbow X-rayed at an area hospital, and the results came back negative. He will fly back to South Jersey today and have an MRI on Thursday at the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia.

Pennington said there were scouts down in Myrtle Beach, including the national crosschecker scouts for the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. They have more say in the scouting process when it comes to draft day.
 


"It was a disappointment because I didn't have the ability to show them what I had," Pennington said.
 


With a day to think about it, Pennington has had the ability to settle down and think about his future.
 


What helped him settle down was the endorsement he got from St. John's coach Ed Blankmeyer that the school would honor his scholarship. Pennington plans on getting a good education at St. John's and rehab at their facilities.
 


He said his elbow is sore to the touch and feels weak. He's just thankful it's not a shoulder injury, and he's optimistic regardless of the seriousness of the injury.
 


"If it happens to be serious, I'm just going to be really positive about it and not sit back and dwell on it," Pennington said. "I just have to get back out there and work harder and be stronger."

 
 
* Underwent successful Tommy John surgery on 6/23/2014, with Dr. James Andrews performing the procedure:
 

Josh Pennington @J_Penns5  ·  Jun 24
Thank you Dr. Andrews for fixing me up. A successful surgery is a great surgery. Now the comeback…
 

 
More post-surgery pics spoilered below so as not to frighten the weak:

Spoiler

Josh Pennington @J_Penns5  ·  Jun 24
The white thing is my new ligament
 

 


Josh Pennington @J_Penns5  ·  Jul 1

Oh yea
 

 
 
* On day #3 of the draft (6/7/2014), after not being selected several rounds in, Josh took the initiative:
 

Pennington said the Red Sox expressed a lot of interest in him before the draft.
 
But when round after round passed on Saturday, Pennington said he was so frustrated that he took action.
 
"I was getting so nervous," Pennington said. "I [went for it]. I texted their area scout [Ray Fagnant] and said, 'I know you are busy but I would love to be a Red Sock.'
 
"He texted me back to be patient. I was thinking, 'OK, he told me to be patient, no way I'm getting picked in this round.'
 
"I was not even paying that much attention to my computer and then I saw my name on the screen. I jumped out of the bed so high. I couldn't believe it."

 
 
* Lured away from a commitment to St. John's.  Flew to Fort Myers on 7/12/2014, then signed with Boston on 7/17/2014 -- just one day ahead of the MLB signing deadline for 2014 draftees.
 

Josh Pennington @J_Penns5  ·  Jul 11

It's been the toughest and most stressful couple months of my life but I can't wait to get to Ft. Meyers it's such a relief
 

Josh Pennington @J_Penns5  ·  Jul 11
My mom cried when I told her I won't be home till September
 
Josh Pennington @J_Penns5  ·  Jul 12
Finally here

 
 
* Ranked #401 on Baseball America's Top 500 Prospects for the 2014 Draft:
 

Pennington entered the spring as one of the top arms in the Northeast, especially after his electric outing at last summer's Metropolitan Baseball Classic, but then he had Tommy John surgery. He had shown a 91-93 mph fastball this spring from a high three-quarters arm slot. He gets extension out front and the ball jumps out of his hand. Wiry, flexible and athletic, Pennington has one of the quickest arms in the class. His breaking ball also flashes above-average potential, and his changeup flashed average. He is a live-bodied 6-foot, 173-pounder with some strength to his lower half and is committed to St. John's.

 
 
* Perfect Game scouting report from the June 2013 National Showcase (Minneapolis MN):
 

FB: 89-91 mph (max 92)
CB: 75
SL: 81
CH: 82
PG Grade: 10.0
 
 Medium athletic build, young look, lots of room to get stronger, projects well. Balanced on line delivery, 3/4's arm slot, fast arm coming through, hides the ball well and repeats his delivery. Showed four solid pitches in a short look. Fastball topped out at 92 mph, good downhill angle and life, curveball and slider spun well and had bite, showed feel for a low 80's change up. Pounded the strike zone with all four pitches and got quick outs. Anxious to see more of him.

 
 
* On June 11, his final day of high school, he was written up and given a detention for chewing tobacco in class. He tweeted a pic of his violation notice, along with some choice comments for school officials:
 

 

JP @J_Penns5  ·  10h

Like I've been doing this for 2 years it's the last day and your gonna screw me over
 
JP @J_Penns5  ·  10h

Give me a break I'm a senior that's giving Lower more recognition then it deserves


 
JP @J_Penns5  ·  10h

Good luck ever getting me to say a good thing about this school

 
 
* On June 12, an interview of Josh aired on a local South Jersey TV station (It's at the 17:30 mark here):
 

JP ‏@J_Penns5
Everyone tune into @nbc40news tonight around 6:10 and 11:20 to watch my interview pertaining to the draft.

 

[mabrowndog]

A South Jersey paper reports on the local kid turning pro.
 

 
Pennington tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow in mid April while warming up prior to a scheduled start during the Caper Tigers’ trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. But with a fastball that consistently sat into the low 90s prior to his injury, Pennington was still an attractive enough prospect for the Red Sox to take a chance on him in the later rounds of the draft.
 
“It was a big relief to sign,” Pennington said in a telephone interview from Ft.Myers. “But even before that, when I got down here is when it hit me. Now it’s like I’m in the business world and I’m a professional baseball player.”
 
Pennington had reconstructive “Tommy John” surgery in late June, performed by famous sports orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews.
 
“It was 100 percent successful,” Pennington said of the surgery.

 
Pennington isn’t expected to pitch in game conditions for at least a year. He’s currently going through a rehabilitation program with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox rookie ball team.
 
“I’m at the stadium every day with the guys and stuff, but I’m in the rehab room with all the other guys rehabbing,” Pennington said.
 
Pennington said he expects to spend most of his time in Ft.Myers through at least the beginning of next season. He said he is scheduled to begin a throwing program in October.
 
“I’ll be down here for most of the offseason,” he said.

 
Pennington pitched in just two games as a senior at Lower prior to his injury, striking out 25 batters in only 11 innings pitched. As a junior, he recorded a 0.53 earned run average in 30 innings pitched.
 
Pennington had signed a National Letter of Intent to pitch at Division I St. John’s University but informed the school a few weeks prior to the draft that his intention was to turn pro if selected.

 

[mabrowndog]

Tyler Donohue ‏@TDsTake 40m
South Jersey native Josh Pennington (@J_Penns5) joins us on @973espn at 11 AM Saturday to discuss Red Sox contract and Tommy John recovery.
 
Hopefully the station's web site will have the interview available on-demand.

 

[Again2004]

Right-handed pitcher Josh Pennington made his pro debut in the Gulf Coast League this year after tearing his UCL during his senior season of high school and undergoing Tommy John surgery following the 2014 draft. At the complex, he impressed in an abbreviated season, allowing only 17 hits in 22 innings with a 0.82 ERA and 13 walks to 22 strikeouts. Pennington’s stuff was impressive in the Instructional League outing scouted, quickly disposing of the Orioles lineup in each of his two innings of work. Pennington has an average build, listed at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, with an athletic frame and live, loose arm. He does not have much projection left in his body and has effort in his delivery. Pennington starts on the first base side of the rubber and throws from a high-three quarters slot with a short arm action and a quick arm. He has solid arm strength and sat 94-96 mph during his two innings of work. The pitch was on the straight side, however, as Pennington does not get great plane due to his height, but he did a good job staying in line to the plate and was consistently around the strike zone. He complimented his fastball with a firm changeup at 86-88 mph and a 12-to-6 curveball at 76-78 mph. The curve showed better potential, flashing solid-average as he really snapped it off with tight rotation and sharp break. He had good feel for the offering and showed the ability to throw it for strikes both called and swinging by burying it down and out of the zone. Because of Pennington’s prior arm trouble, delivery, and build, he is best suited in a bullpen role, but with his fastball-curveball combination, he bares watching as someone who could impress in that role.
 

 
According to SP.