What to Expect from Red Sox Pitcher Jake Bennett

This season with Triple-A Worcester, Bennett has been otherworldly. The 25-year-old posted a .86 ERA over his first five starts and struck out 16 over 21 innings.

For Bennett, he’ll throw a little bit of everything. His four-seamer isn’t a plus pitch by any means. However, it does give him more dimension to his arsenal, specifically as a theoretical weapon to work hitters up in the zone. Bennett loves his sinker, not a shock given that he generates a lot of groundballs. And, it also received (17%) a good amount of swing-and-miss.

The fastballs play off the secondary stuff, which includes a cutter, a deep-cutting low-80s changeup with more sink than run, as well as a slurve-like curveball that operates as his primary breaking ball. Both his changeup (38%) and curveball (33%) are swing-and-miss pitches.

Aside from the swing-and-miss, the more prevalent components of his game are the chase and swing-and-miss. A high chase rate (33.6%) and GB% (60.3%), the latter of which is the third-highest in Triple-A (min. 50 batted balls), along with well-hit suppression, make him an ideal mid-rotation starter.

All of that comes from what is a very difficult angle to pick up on. His arm is well-hidden in his delivery, and Bennett’s extension was routinely over seven inches, making a low-to-mid-90s fastball play up much more. For a better view of that, make sure to watch the full three-minute video of our footage taken from July 2025.

The Red Sox made Jake Bennett their scheduled starter for May 1.

Analysis

Even though the Red Sox loaded up on pitching this winter, that hasn’t been enough for the rotation this season. Sonny Gray & Johan Oviedo, both offseason acquisitions, are on the IL. Garrett Crochet is also on the IL, and that doesn’t even begin to broach the individuals who’ve struggled this season for Boston.

Connelly Early and Payton Tolle have become critical pieces of the Red Sox’s rotation, and Bennett now joins the fray.

It’s not a shock to see this kind of move, even though Bennett has limited experience above Double-A. He’s on the 40-man roster, has a deep arsenal that looked like it could get Major League hitters out last year, plus has the numbers to back it up.