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Boston Red Sox: Eduardo Rodriguez, Tanner Houck lead 2021 rotation

By Jason Haskins

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 20: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Fenway Park on September 20, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 20: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Fenway Park on September 20, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Tanner Houck was once again impressive on the mound for the Boston Red Sox, giving a glimpse of what’s to come for 2021 and beyond.

A bright, shining star arrived for the Boston Red Sox as this easily forgettable 2020 season comes to a close.

Translating this late-season success across a full season will be the next step for blossoming pitcher Tanner Houck. For now, we’ll enjoy the way he ended the 2020 season in dominating fashion, with an eye towards leading a better rotation and brighter future in 2021.

Houck — making only his third major league start — gave fans even more hope. The 24-year old rookie dominated the National League East champion Atlanta Braves on Saturday, scattering only three hits and one run over six innings while striking out 10. And the Boston Red Sox offense continued to be a bright spot in this “lost” season, plating eight runs in the 8-2 victory.

Houck issued three walks and allowed his first earned run, a solo home run by Dansby Swanson in the fifth inning.

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The imposing righty Houck racked up 21 strikeouts in his three starts. Control was a slight issue — he totaled nine walks — but those didn’t come back to haunt him. Posting a 0.53 ERA, Houck used power pitching to work his way out of the few jams he faced.

Starting pitching was on the wrong side of good in 2020 for Boston. Houck was able to step in at the end and deliver three quality starts. Teaming with Eduardo Rodriguez should give the Red Sox a nice 1-2 punch in 2021.

Building a better rotation for the future

Rodriguez was slated to become the true ace of this team before being sidelined for the season with a COVID-19 related heart issue. The good news is that he was recently cleared to begin physical activity again.

The young lefty was coming off the best season of his career in 2019. Rodriguez put up Cy Young Award worthy stats, picking up a career-high with 19 wins while also tossing a career-best 203.1 innings and striking out 213. More importantly, he seemed poised to duplicate and possibly even improve those numbers in 2020 before the health issues hit.

If all goes well, Rodriguez will slide back into the number one spot come next spring. It’s not impossible to think that Houck can be the No. 2 starter. A healthy Chris Sale at the number three spot takes off some of the pressure. The hope would be he could have the kind of top production David Price did in his last half season in Boston, when he was at the bottom portion of the rotation.

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Envisioning Rodriguez and Houck at the top of the rotation is not too early of a thing to do. It’s going to be a long offseason as the Red Sox watch from home. But with these top dealing at the top of their games, plus a rejuvenated Sale, may very well mean that in 2021, Boston is right back where they belong: at the top of the American League East.

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