Lowdown on Tommy Hottovy
by Marc Normandin on Jun 3, 2011 3:39 PM EDT
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PrintTommy Hottovy--that's two T's, for those of you who have just heard his name for the first time--has been called up to replace the injured Rich Hill on the Red Sox roster. He required a spot on the 40-man, but luckily (well, you know what I mean) Daisuke Matsuzaka was also injured, and was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to make room.
Hottovy is 29 years old and has been in the Red Sox organization (and professional baseball) since 2004, when he was drafted in the fourth round and debuted with the Low-A Lowell Spinners. Hottovy was a reliever in college, but the Sox used him as a starter until 2008, when he underwent Tommy John surgery and was able to appear in just two games.
He returned in 2009, once again with a few outings at Lowell, but with most of the year at Double-A Portland. He was also a reliever once again, and had his most productive season since his debut five years earlier (10.9 K/9, 3.2 K/BB, 0.8 HR/9, 3.18 ERA). He has stuck in that relief role ever since, but in 2010 he changed his delivery as an additional look towards improvement.
You can't argue with the results anymore: while things were rough at first (Double-A was not kind to him during his repeat performance in 2010, and Pawtucket was just about as ugly) he has turned things around in the early goings this year. Between Portland and Pawtucket, Hottovy has 28 strikeouts in 27 innings, a 5.6 K/BB ratio thanks to allowing just five walks in that stretch, and a 2.33 Run Average out of the pen.
Based on those punch out figures, you would think Hottovy had real good stuff, but he's more the crafty lefty type, with mid-80s fastballs and junk pitches to complement that. He's close to average in terms of groundballs vs. flyballs, but his control and his delivery make him effective against lefties. That is the role the Red Sox plan to use him in, and while we don't know yet if he is considered a permanent solution, it's nice to see a 29-year-old get his first shot at the bigs, even if it was due to injury and the refusal of a certain demoted reliever to come back to Boston that helped get him here.
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Hottovy
Seems like the most sensible replacement for Hill. And speaking of Hill, if there was one thing his story taught us is that an oldish lefty without a ton of professional baseball success to his name can succeed as a specialist.
Good under-the-radar choice.
Keeps Weiland working as a starter, Felix isn’t ready yet, and certainly fills a similar role to hill.
Hopefully he’ll be at least half as good, too.
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This is pretty cool
Hottovy is someone I’ve never actually thought of as someone that might really make it to the majors- I hadn’t even noticed how well he was doing this year. Hopefully that’s for real and maybe he can actually contribute! Personally, I’m hoping he performs well enough as a lefty specialist to earn Morales a DFA when he’s healthy.
Good move
Hottovy can’t be much different than Hill as a side armer, and of course he will serve in the lefty specialist role. I’ve also read that his fastball has gotten up to the low 90s this season instead of the mid 80s said in this article. You can tell his switch to his side arm delivery is really working, so I think he can really be a good addition to the bullpen, with barely any difference from Hill. Plus, you can never go wrong with a good story like Hottovy, debuting at 30 years of age, couple of years removed from TJS, spending many years in the minors. Good for him.
Beginning of the Sarkisian ERA
A low 90's fastball from a sidearm angle would look ridiculous to opposing pitchers.
DFA Rev Halofan
I'm a 7 WAR player in bed.
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Fear the Roar.
The opposing pitchers would be overcome with jealousy.
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
I mean both!
I blame the aliens, their mind control beams are making me speak wrongly.
DFA Rev Halofan
I'm a 7 WAR player in bed.
Official Baker of Red Sox Nation
Fear the Roar.
I've known his name for a couple years
Became a fan of his early on in his career when I was looking through minor league players, I said he’d one day play for the Red Sox, so it’s nice to have that prediction seemingly come true.
The Red Sox suck, and I am the dirt that was sucked in, I am a dirty.
Interesting link on Okajima, but I cannot say I blame him.
His perception is probably pretty accurate too… we cut him last offseason, then oddly signed him for a major league deal at $1.75M, started him off in the minors and called him up when we had some injuries… he got torched in his first appearance, then pitched fairly well the rest of them. We traded for Morales, DFA’d Okajima and that move didn’t make a tone of sense to me.
Why sign him for $1.75M at all if you don’t think he’s worth being there? What more did we expect of him in our bullpen this year than he provided (first appearance being the obvious exception)?
Frankly, a move to the NL, where hitters haven’t figured out his delivery yet is probably the best move for him, but with what we’ve done, I wonder what we’d get as a return on the trade. Anything worthwhile at all?
well...
They did get living players in return for Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez. And Oki is a lefty, so someone may desperately bite in July.
Twitter: @Marc_Normandin
by Marc Normandin on Jun 3, 2011 5:37 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
wonder if they signed him for Dice?
conspiracy theorist in me wonders if they signed him to appease Dice and have another Japanese player in the clubhouse (I realize Dice has his translator). Then when Dice went away, away went Oki
I did not even think of this guy.
But am glad to see him. Question, Marc- I there were any RHP relivers to get injured, is Blake Maxwell a guy we will see considered? I have followed him a few years and he seems solid.
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Am I the only person who thinks Tommy Hottovy sounds like
the name of a leading character in a bad Californian cop drama?
Dial B for Beach Murder, starring Jason Jasonson as Tommy Hottovy.
DFA Rev Halofan
I'm a 7 WAR player in bed.
Official Baker of Red Sox Nation
Fear the Roar.
Hey... what's up with bashing "Jason" there, buddy?
My given name, so “Jason Jasonson” sounds a little like ripping on it… at least you didn’t spell it with a “y” though. Drives me nuts when folks tell me I don’t spell “Jason” correctly because I don’t use a “y” in my name… umm… last time I checked…
Okay, random OT rant finished.
It was the first name that popped into my head
I thought Jason Jasonson would be a good bad action actor’s name. Nothing wrong with it, I would love to be a bad action actor, especially in California on the beach with all those girls running around in bikinis.
DFA Rev Halofan
I'm a 7 WAR player in bed.
Official Baker of Red Sox Nation
Fear the Roar.
I miss GIANT LOOGY
:(
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
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