Tanner Houck opened a lot of eyes last September with three strong starts. He also turned in three solid innings Wednesday, keeping the Atlanta Braves scoreless while fanning three.
But despite all of that, every indication is that he'll open the season at the team's alternate site. With four established veterans -- Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Richards and Martin Perez -- ahead of him and Nick Pivetta out of options, it looks like Houck could be the odd man out -- at least the start of the season.
"For me, I just want to go out there and compete, whether it's at the alternate site or the big leagues,'' he said. "For me, I want to go out and help the team win, so whatever they call on me to do, I'm 100 percent willing to. For me, I think we have an amazing team and I don't want to take anything away; I only want to give. Whatever they need me to do, I'm here for.
"I'm going to go out and put my best foot forward every day, whether that's in the clubhouse, in the weight room or on the field. I'll put my best foot forward and let them make the decision.''
While he's hardly guaranteed anything, he does know that the Sox envision him as a starter and intend to keep him in that role. Alex Cora said Wednesday that the team would resist the temptation to moving him to the bullpen as a way of finding a spot for him in Boston.
"I love hearing that,'' he said. "I love starting. I love getting the ball every fifth day. I've started my entire life. I've had a little stint here and there (out of the bullpen), but for me, I love hearing that. I truly love starting and I plan on doing it for a long time.''
Houck was regularly hitting 96-97 with his fastball, the result of a lot of work in the offseason, with extra emphasis on building up his body and strengthening his shoulder.
"I definitely wanted to change my whole body,'' he said. "I wanted to go out there and put my best foot forward. That also included changing the diet, sleeping habits, and truly just pushing myself in the weight room as much as possible.''
He continues to try to develop a splitter as his third pitch, something he can regularly use against lefties.
"That's definitely a big pitch for me moving forward,'' he said. "Every starter needs a third or fourth pitch. For me, that third pitch is going to be massive, keeping them off the fastball and slider. I threw two of them today with good movement, in my opinion. It's definitely been a pitch that I've worked on extremely hard in the year I've thrown it, and to see how far it's come. It's definitely building a lot of confidence.''
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