Tanner Lee Houck (born June 29, 1996) is an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
for the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB). He was drafted by the Red Sox with the 24th overall pick in the
2017 MLB draft
The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...
. Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed.
Amateur career
Houck attended
Collinsville High School
Collinsville High School (CHS) is a four-year public high school in the Collinsville Community Unit School District 10 in Illinois. In 2011, Collinsville High School had an enrollment of 1,985 students.
Academics
In 2015, 85% of the senior clas ...
in
Collinsville, Illinois
Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 25,579, an increase from 24,707 in 2000. Collinsville is approximately from St. Louis, Mis ...
. He was drafted by the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
in the 12th round of the
2014 MLB draft
The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...
, but did not sign and attended the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
to play
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
. As a freshman at Missouri in 2015, Houck started 15 games, going 8–5 with a 3.49
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) and 91
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s and only 12
walks in innings. As a sophomore, Houck started 15 games and was 5–6 with a 2.99 ERA and 106 strikeouts.
Professional career
The
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
selected Houck with the 24th overall pick in the
2017 MLB draft
The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...
. He signed on June 21, 2017, and was assigned to the
Class A Short Season
Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...
Lowell Spinners
The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...
, where he spent the whole season, posting an 0–3 record with a 3.63 ERA in
innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
.
[ In 2018, he played with the ]Class A-Advanced
High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...
Salem Red Sox
The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Carolina League. Ho ...
where he pitched to a 7–11 record with a 4.24 ERA in 23 starts.[
In 2019, he began with the Double-A ]Portland Sea Dogs
The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...
, and was promoted to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...
on July 13.[ Overall during 2019, Houck was 8–6 with a 4.01 ERA and 107 strikeouts in innings.] Following the 2019 regular season, Houck made six starts for the Peoria Javelinas
The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the Sa ...
of the Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...
.
During the start-delayed 2020 MLB season
The 2020 Major League Baseball season began on July 23 and ended on September 27 with only 60 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The full 162-game regular season was planned to begin on March 26, but the pandemic caused Major League Baseball (ML ...
, Houck won his MLB debut against the Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
on September 15, allowing two hits and no runs in five innings pitched while striking out seven batters. Those strikeouts resulted in Houck donating $700 to his charity, Pitch for Adoption, as before the game he had pledged to donate $100 for each strikeout. While Houck was a freshman in high school, his family adopted a 4-year-old girl, which moved him to become a supporter for adoption. Houck became only the fourth player in Red Sox history to strikeout seven or more batters and not allow any runs in an MLB debut game. In Houck's second start, against the New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
on September 20, he took a no hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
into the sixth inning, exiting the game after that inning having held the Yankees to one hit and one unearned run. Overall with the 2020 Red Sox, Houck appeared in three games (all starts), compiling a 3–0 record with 0.53 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched.[ Following the 2020 season, Houck was ranked by '']Baseball America
''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...
'' as the Red Sox' number eight prospect.
Houck began the 2021 season on Boston's active roster; he lost one start and made one relief appearance before being optioned to the team's alternate training site on April 7. He was recalled to start one game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
on April 18, taking the loss. Houck was again recalled by the Red Sox on July 16,[ earning his first major-league save that evening, pitching the final three innings of a 4–0 win over the Yankees in ]The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. He was optioned to and recalled from the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox
The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawt ...
several times during July and August. Overall during the regular season, Houck made 18 appearances (13 starts) for Boston, compiling a 1–5 record with 3.52 ERA; he struck out 87 batters in 69 innings.[
Houck began the 2022 season in the Red Sox' starting rotation. He was placed on the ]restricted list
This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries.
...
prior to a late April series in Toronto, as he was apparently not vaccinated against COVID-19 (required to enter Canada), causing him to miss a start. He re-joined the team on April 29 in Baltimore. Houck was again placed on the restricted list in late June when the Red Sox played another series to Toronto. On August 9, Houck was placed on the injured list due to lower-back inflammation. On September 3, Red Sox manager Alex Cora
Jose Alexander Cora (born October 18, 1975) is a Puerto Rican baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 14 seasons with the Red Sox, Los Angeles ...
announced that Houck would have season-ending back surgery. In 32 appearances (four starts) during 2022, Houck recorded a 5–4 record with eight saves and a 3.15 ERA while striking out 56 batters in 60 innings pitched.
International career
In the summer of 2015, Houck played for the United States collegiate national team. Against Cuba, Houck, A. J. Puk
Andrew Jacob Puk ( ; born April 25, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics. He played college baseball for the Florida ...
and Ryan Hendrix
Ryan Matthew Hendrix (born December 16, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He made his MLB debut in 2021 for the Cincinnati Reds.
Career Amateur career
Hendrix attended Cypress Woods High ...
combined to throw a no-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
.
In October 2019, Houck was selected for the United States national baseball team
The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...
for the 2019 WBSC Premier12
The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship ...
tournament.
References
External links
SoxProspects.com
Missouri Tigers bio
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houck, Tanner
1996 births
Living people
Baseball players from Illinois
Boston Red Sox players
Lowell Spinners players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Missouri Tigers baseball players
Pawtucket Red Sox players
People from Collinsville, Illinois
Peoria Javelinas players
Portland Sea Dogs players
Salem Red Sox players
Worcester Red Sox players
United States national baseball team players
2019 WBSC Premier12 players