Durbin Feltman's first taste of major league action went swimmingly.
The 21-year-old Red Sox relief prospect took the mound in the ninth inning for Thursday's exhibition matchup against the Tigers. Feltman struck out two of the three batters he faced and walked Gordon Beckham, who was picked off for the third out of the 4-4 tie.
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The coveted TCU product enjoyed the experience of being called upon in the ninth for the big-league club, an experience he may have more often in the not-so-distant future.
“That was awesome,” Feltman said per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “Coming in in the ninth inning, that’s always cool, especially on the big league side. That was quite the experience. Got out there, kind of was a little spotty, but it was fun to just see how my stuff plays and get used to the smaller strike zone, stuff like that. It was a great experience.”
Feltman, taken in the third round of last June's MLB Draft, could be called up as soon as this season, especially given the question marks with the current state of the Red Sox bullpen. Expectations already are sky-high for the No. 12 ranked Sox prospect. An American League scout even compared the right-hander to a three-time All-Star closer.
Boston Red Sox
Red Sox manager Alex Cora got the chance to watch Feltman work on Monday at the minor league complex behind JetBlue Park in Fort Myers. He was impressed with what he saw.
“It caught my eye,” Cora said. “It was 95, 96, and the breaking ball, I actually had to go to the dugout to see feedback and it’s a good one. It’s a good slider. Quick, out of the zone. We keep talking about vertical attack and he understands that part and his stuff plays into it.”
Feltman hasn't thrown a pitch above the Single-A level, so the youngster still has to get some experience under his belt before we see him in the big league 'pen. That could be a quick process if he dominates the same way he did in 2018, when he posted a 1.93 ERA, 0.986 WHIP, and 13.9 K/9.
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