Houck up

gryoung

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He was filthy tonight. Consider the source, but Eck and Remy were losing their minds over how great he looked in his third inning of work. His fastball had a ton of movement. It wasn't exactly the 27 Yankees out there tonight, but his stuff looked great.

Pitching Ninja was impressed:
View: https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1416220986274373632?s=19
I don’t get the “consider the source”. I think Eck is pretty open about his views of Sox pitchers, good or bad.
 

greek_gawd_of_walks

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Apr 14, 2009
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Totally reminds me of the sinker Justin Masterson would throw. Houck being able to throw a straight four seam, two seam/sink and slider may be enough for him to make it as a starter, however, if that split/change became a really consistent offering, that would give him a legitimate starter's mix imo.

He's exciting. The Sox are in a very exciting spot now and going forward into the future. Houck, Whitlock and potentially Seabold all have a chance to be in the rotation at different points next year. Talk about cheap talent. Add in Pivetta, who isn't free agent eligible until 2025 and that's an impressive collection of cost controlled players.
 

ehaz

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Sep 30, 2007
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He actually threw a few nasty splits in the game. One resulted in a broken bat grounder, a few were low in the zone and hitters didn't chase but they were right were you want to throw that pitch while ahead.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Aug 23, 2008
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Totally reminds me of the sinker Justin Masterson would throw. Houck being able to throw a straight four seam, two seam/sink and slider may be enough for him to make it as a starter, however, if that split/change became a really consistent offering, that would give him a legitimate starter's mix imo.

He's exciting. The Sox are in a very exciting spot now and going forward into the future. Houck, Whitlock and potentially Seabold all have a chance to be in the rotation at different points next year. Talk about cheap talent. Add in Pivetta, who isn't free agent eligible until 2025 and that's an impressive collection of cost controlled players.
Good call on Masterson. We know there is precedent for sinker ballers to have a limited repertoire and do just fine.

What’s nice is Houck throws harder and has sharper breaking stuff, and can generally mix it up more as you said. Masterson vs LHH was always a little dicey, but Houck clearly has more ways to get them out. He certainly misses more bats.
 

Niastri

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Maddux had 2 pitches…however I remember an interview that he did after he retired in which he explained that he could manipulate those pitches by applying pressure to a different finger when he threw them. Dude was brilliant.
I remember a SI article about Maddox. In a tight spot, he decided he needed a pitch outside his normal repertoire... So he invented it on the spot and got the strikeout, crossing up the catcher in the process. On the way to the dugout, the catcher said "I guess if you're going to throw that, we'd better make up a sign."

Apocryphal, but Maddox definitely had a full range of pitches.
 

Apisith

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Oct 19, 2007
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Glasnow's been pretty successful with just two pitches, but both are elite. Houck's slider looks elite, the sinker sometimes is elite but sometimes also looks pretty average to me. He's not far away from becoming a mainstay in the rotation, and looks likely to be able to stick - at minimum - as a multi-inning reliever. These days that could be pretty valuable (see: Whitlock).
 

Jimbodandy

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Jan 31, 2006
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around the way
Imo his two primary pitches are strong enough that he will earn the time to continue working in that splitter in game. His command is good enough too. Some nights he doesn't have great movement on his sinker, so we will see the occasional rough outing (also if he has a bad command game). The splitter doesn't even have to be dominant to be effective, as long has he can throw a few and get it in their heads.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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Mar 11, 2007
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I'm really bullish on this kid. I'm definitely seeing a stretch where he will be clubbed around pretty badly by some good hitting teams after they see him a few times- Houston and Toronto especially. Just hope the team stays patient with him for the long term because I think he's on his way in 3 years or so towards top-ish of a rotation. Hopefully here.
 

Over Guapo Grande

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Nov 29, 2005
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Going back to the righty Sale. In the 8 second mark, right at the release point, you can see two bodies, but just one arm. So, the identical arm slot (of course, it also looks like him/they are about to face plant, so this is all taken with a shaker of salt).

42854

Edit- that is a screen shot- don't try to click the "Play" button like I just did.