It's usually fairly easy to rattle off a projected Opening Day roster for the Red Sox, even this early in spring training. But this time around there are so many new name, faces and skill-set that there are going to be some players who appear seemingly out of nowhere.
One of those players might be Garrett Whitlock.
The time-honored tradition of identifying an early-camp sleeper -- someone who wasn't necessarily on the fans' radar heading into Day 1 -- surfaced Saturday with Alex Cora bringing up Whitlock. (By the way, two years ago Cora's early-camp pick-to-click was Colten Brewer.)
"Whitlock is a guy that I'll be paying a lot of attention," Cora said. "Wait till you guys come down here, whoever comes down, and you see him, he plays the part, he plays a part, he threw a bullpen yesterday, it was very impressive. And the most impressive thing about him is the way he acts, the way he takes care of his body and what he does. You know, he’s very quiet kid, he knows what he wants to do. And looking forward to seeing him pitch and see where it takes us.
"Also, obviously, our pitching depth, you know the kids that, you know, they might contribute this year but the future of the organization, it’s been pretty cool to see these guys but on the way they've been throwing the ball. It’s a testament to where we at, a testament for player development, what they’ve done the last few years, to put us into this spot and it's fun to watch and look at the track man and look at the iPads and, and the numbers that it flashes, you know he's a lot better than 88 and 99, to be honest with you. In an era that velocity and stuff is taking over the game, we're getting there. We're getting there. And it should be fun.”
Whitlock absolutely has a chance to make the big league roster, if for no other reason that he is a Rule 5 pick. If the 24-year-old shows enough promise he will stick, because if he doesn't the Sox will be forced to send him back to the Yankees.
Whitlock hasn't pitched above Double-A, having to miss all of last season due to Tommy John surgery. (For a closer look at the Georgia native's story, click here to read his interview with WEEI.com)
But there is a reason the Red Sox thought he could handle the challenge, one which through the first few days of camp he seems to be up for.
“I’m thrilled for the opportunity,” Whitlock told WEEI.com. “It’s time to go to work. I get the opportunity to be around a bunch of big leaguers who have been there before. I’m excited to listen and just see all the wisdom that they have. That’s what I want to do, soak up all the wisdom from the guys who have been there. At the same time I want to keep my head down and I want to work. I have a blue collar mentality. That’s the way I was raise and that’s the way I’m going to go about it in spring training.
“I’m just a good old country boy from Georgia who likes to work. I just love baseball.”