Red Sox LHP Kyle Hart to make MLB debut Thursday against Rays

Left-hander Kyle Hart, who has dominated recent intrasquad games in Pawtucket, will make his major-league debut for the Red Sox when he starts against the Rays on Thursday afternoon, manager Ron Roenicke said Tuesday night.

With former No. 3 starter Ryan Weber optioned and another hole in their starting rotation, the Red Sox chose the 27-year-old, who they picked in the 19th round of the 2016 draft and included in the 40-man roster back in November.

Hart has made 77 appearances, including 71 starts, in his minor-league career, producing a 3.13 ERA. In two starts he’s made during simulated games at the Red Sox’ alternate training site in Pawtucket, Hart has retired 34 of the 38 batters he’s faced over 11⅓ scoreless innings.

“He’s been throwing the ball really well, so hopefully we get a good start out of him,” Roenicke said.

Hart doesn’t have a high-velocity fastball, which only sits in the high-80s, but he has an array of secondary pitches that’s effectively kept hitters off-balanced in his young career. Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush, who has spent a significant amount of time with him in the minors, knows he’ll need to play to his strengths at the big-league level.

“I think he’s continued on with a lot of stuff he’s been working on the last couple years,” Bush said. “I’ve been around him quite a bit the last three or four years. For him, a lot of the adjustments are small – incremental adjustments in pitch mix and pitch shape, trying to understand exactly where his pitches play in the zone, how to mix pitches together, how to sequence things. …

“His command is going to be critical. It always is for him. The stuff is not going to light up a radar gun, but he’s got multiple pitches, he commands the ball to both sides of the plate. The better he is at that stuff the better he’ll be on the field.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2FbbK0N