Garrett Whitlock Is Turning Into A Full Blown Monster

Trey Daubert/MLB/August 8, 2021

Garrett Whitlock Is Turning Into A Full Blown Monster

Thank you, Yankees! The gift that keeps on giving has turned into one of the funniest stories this baseball season. Rule 5 picks more often than not turn into nothing. However, Brian Cashman’s hoarding tactics have really come back to bite him in the ass. Garrett Whitlock has turned into a full blown monster for the Red Sox.

Many didn’t have a clue who Garrett Whitlock was when the Red Sox picked him in the Rule 5 draft. Hell, the Red Sox scouted the guy via Instagram. I wrote a post on Whitlock in Spring Training because I was blown away after doing some research on the tall right-handed reliever. Several months later, this dude is one of the best relievers in the entire sport.

In 54 innings pitched, the former Yankees farmhand has an ERA 1.17, K per 9 rate of 9.3, and batting average against of .235. More importantly, Whitlock has kept the ball in the ballpark allowing 0.7 home runs per 9. I could go on and on about the stats. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this dude has been a stud all year.

Hitters have a hard time making solid contact against Whitlock. That makes you believe what he’s doing is sustainable. When I did my prior post, I comped Whitlock to David Roberston. I was just missing one big thing. Whitlock is 6-foot-5. Robertson is 5-foot-11. WHOOPS.

Whitlock just gets such great extension on his delivery. The fastball comes in at 96 MPH but that puppy has an extra jump at the end because of how long he is. The Sox long reliever ranks in the 92nd percentile in barrel percentage. Even when hitters are making contact, they’re not driving the ball on Whitlock. Probably means this dude is here to stay and his ERA is far from lucky.