WORCESTER — Connor Seabold will make his major league debut Saturday for the Boston Red Sox against the Chicago White Sox. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. at Guaranteed Rate Field.
He has a 2.70 ERA (33 ⅓ innings, 10 earned runs) and 38 strikeouts in six starts for Triple-A Worcester since the beginning of August.
Boston acquired the 25-year-old with Nick Pivetta from the Phillies last August for Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree. The righty is known for his swing-and-miss changeup that plays like a reverse slider. But his actual slider has been an important pitch for him during his dominant run at Worcester.
“His slider has been outstanding, too,” Worcester pitching coach Paul Abbott said here at Polar Park on Saturday. “He’s more than just a fastball/changeup guy. He’s got a really solid slider to go with as well. And he’s very confident with it. Last game, he didn’t really feel his changeup. But he has another weapon to go to and it was his slider. And he gave up one hit in six innings.”
Seabold allowed just one hit and struck out 10 in 6 scoreless innings against Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 4.
He allowed one hit and struck out nine in 7 scoreless innings against Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 21.
He allowed one hit and struck out four in 6 scoreless innings against Rochester on Sept. 4.
“Even with him not having it (the changeup) last game, he got a good strikeout with it at the right time,” Abbott said. “He was kind of frustrated because of some loud contact for outs. I said, ‘You give up one hit in six innings with not your best stuff, you better strike out 15 when you have your good stuff.’
“Last year was a weird year for guys,” Abbott said. “He was on the fast track. He should have been here last year and developed more. So he’s still in that development mode. He’s got the weapons to do it. It’s just logging the innings.”
Chris Sale saw Seabold dominate Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 4.
“It was ridiculous,” Sale said about Seabold’s stuff. “I mean, plus fastball, plus breaking ball.”
Seabold spent time this season on the IL because of elbow inflammation.
“As long as he keeps filling up the zone, his stuff plays anywhere,” Sale said Sept. 1. “I wouldn’t be too surprised to see him out there (in the big leagues) sooner rather than later. He looks like he’s polished enough to come up here and start getting some big outs.”
Seabold turns his wrist out when he throws his changeup. It something he began doing in 2019 to create better action and spin.
“I try to pronate it a lot,” Seabold said during the offseason. “If you watch Devin Williams, for example, that’s kind of how I try and throw it. I try to get side spin on it. And when it’s on, it’s like a reverse slider. And so that’s the type of action and spin I’m trying to get with that pitch at any given time.”
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