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Alex Cora Thinks People Are Sleeping on Tanner Houck

Vendetta Sports Media / MLB / June 1, 2024

Alex Cora Thinks People Are Sleeping on Tanner Houck

Boston Red Sox Manager and World Series Champion Alex Cora believes Tanner Houck is one of the best pitchers in the league, and people need to take notice.

I think Alex Cora is sorta right. I mean, how could anyone ignore the season Tanner Houck is having right now? His numbers are stellar. Houck is maintaining a 1.85 ERA and has racked up 75 strikeouts in 78 innings pitched. He’s only walked 15 batters and has given up one home run. Compared to last season, this level of improvement would have been hard to imagine. As of now, Houck has cut his ERA to less than half of his 2023 numbers. At 5-5, he is certainly on pace to top the six wins he earned in 2023.

Houck’s manager, Alex Cora, doesn’t think Houck is getting the hype he deserves. According to him, Houck is “one of the best pitchers in the big leagues. Every outing, he’s giving us a chance to win.” Much of Houck’s new success is being attributed to Andrew Bailey, the new pitching coach for the Red Sox. His goal going into this season was to completely overhaul Boston’s pitching staff, which is no easy feat. In an interview on NESN, Bailey called Houck’s style “unique”, adding “We want to tap into that outlier kind of movement that he’s got. That’s what separates him.”

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Tanner Houck is already generating buzz in the Cy Young conversation for this year, which contradicts Cora’s claim that he’s not getting proper attention. Houck has pushed back on the buzz a little bit, pointing out that the season is still young. As it stands, however, his stats make a solid argument. Perhaps the buzz around him is getting lost in all the mediocrity that is the 2024 Boston Red Sox. The team made no big moves during the off season, and are currently sitting one game above .500. They’re third place in the AL East. Disappointing teams can still produce Cy Young winners, though. The 2019 New York Mets were able to produce Jacob DeGrom‘s second Cy Young, despite finishing 86-76 and missing the playoffs. They were only able to hand DeGrom an 11-8 record despite 32 starts. It looks like Houck will get the same treatment this year.

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