Red Sox Promote Hunter Dobbins

10:18AM: The Red Sox have officially announced Dobbins’ call-up.  Manager Alex Cora indicated to reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) that Dobbins might be the starter in the second game of the doubleheader.

7:49AM: The Red Sox will be calling up right-hander Hunter Dobbins from Triple-A Worcester, according to Chris Henrique of the Boston Sports Journal.  Dobbins will be Boston’s 27th man for its doubleheader with the Cardinals today, and since he was already added to the 40-man roster last November, no corresponding transactions are required.

If Dobbins gets some action in either of the two games, it will mark the 25-year-old’s Major League debut.  The Red Sox selected Dobbins in the eighth round of the 2021 draft, even though he had undergone a Tommy John surgery that year while pitching for Texas Tech.  The surgery rehab delayed Dobbins’ pro debut until 2022, but the results have been solid since the righty has gotten back onto the mound.

Over 311 career innings in the minors, Dobbins has a 3.88 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, and 7.94% walk rate.  Only 24 1/3 of those innings have come at the Triple-A level, and he was expected to get more seasoning in Worcester as the 2025 season develops.  Dobbins has started 61 of his 63 career games, though he’ll likely work out of the pen today as a fresh arm for the Sox to utilize over the twin bill.

Baseball America ranks Dobbins as the 11th-best prospect in Boston’s farm system, and MLB Pipeline isn’t far behind with a #13 ranking.  Dobbins’ five-pitch arsenal includes a fastball that can touch 98mph and a splinker that he started using last season — as BA’s scouting report puts it, “he doesn’t have a single killer pitch to generate a ton of whiffs, but he steers clear of barrels.”  Dobbins allowed only two homers over his 125 2/3 combined innings of Double-A and Triple-A ball in 2024, though he has already surpassed that total in his lone Triple-A appearance this year, as he was tagged for three homers and five earned runs in a 3 2/3-inning relief outing on April 1.