Tanner Houck

Tanner Houck

28-Year-Old PitcherSP
Boston Red Sox
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Houck worked exclusively as a starter in 2024 and shaved nearly two runs off his ERA, improved his walk rate and was better against lefties on his way to posting a 3.9 fWAR. The right-hander still refers to his money pitch as a slider, but it acted like a sweeper, which he was influenced to throw by new pitching coach Andrew Bailey. There weren't many starters better in the first half than Houck, whose 2.54 ERA and strikeout-per-inning rate landed him in the All-Star Game. He fell off in the second half, but the team views 2024 as a season of growth. Houck pitched deeper into games, improved in the latter innings, and a high groundball rate (93rd percentile) kept home runs down over his career-high 30 starts. Houck was poised to start Opening Day, but that staff ace will now be Garrett Crochet, for whom Boston traded a couple of top prospects. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#234
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $3.95 million contract with the Red Sox in January of 2025.
Takes loss Friday
PBoston Red Sox
March 29, 2025
Houck (0-1) took the loss Friday versus the Rangers, surrendering four earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two batters in 5.2 innings.
ANALYSIS
Houck finished the spring schedule with 17 earned runs allowed in 13.2 innings and did little to turn the tide during his first regular-season outing. He managed to keep Texas off the scoreboard through the first two innings, but an early home run from Jonah Heim put him in an early hole. Boston's offense quickly responded with a run of their own, but another round-tripper from Heim in the fifth put the Rangers back in front for good. It doesn't seem like things are about to get any easier for Houck, as he's lined up to face a Baltimore offense during his next start that's already slugged seven home runs through its first two games.
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Pitching Stats
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2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
89
Last 10 Games
89
Last 5 Games
89
How many pitches does Tanner Houck generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Tanner Houck generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-1%
BAA vs LHP
2025
 
 
-70%
BAA vs RHP
2024
 
 
-14%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-13%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .241 645 124 56 137 30 0 18
Since 2023vs Right .243 584 131 36 130 22 0 9
2025vs Left .556 10 1 1 5 0 0 2
2025vs Right .167 14 1 2 2 1 0 0
2024vs Left .215 395 72 30 76 15 0 5
2024vs Right .249 347 82 18 80 12 0 6
2023vs Left .271 240 51 25 56 15 0 11
2023vs Right .236 223 48 16 48 9 0 3
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-17%
ERA on Road
2025
 
 
-100%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-13%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-28%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 4.23 1.31 149.0 7 11 0 7.7 2.8 0.8
Since 2023Away 3.50 1.16 141.1 8 10 0 8.1 2.9 0.8
2025Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025Away 6.35 1.76 5.2 0 1 0 3.2 4.8 3.2
2024Home 3.33 1.17 94.2 4 6 0 7.0 2.4 0.6
2024Away 2.89 1.11 84.0 5 4 0 8.6 2.5 0.5
2023Home 5.80 1.55 54.1 3 5 0 8.9 3.6 1.3
2023Away 4.18 1.18 51.2 3 5 0 7.8 3.3 1.0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Tanner Houck compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
0.67
 
K/9
3.2
 
BB/9
4.8
 
HR/9
3.2
 
Fastball
94.1 mph
 
ERA
6.35
 
WHIP
1.76
 
BABIP
.263
 
GB/FB
1.14
 
Left On Base
83.3%
 
Exit Velocity
0.0 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
0.0%
 
Spin Rate
0 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
0.0%
 
Swinging Strike
9.0%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
After bouncing back-and-forth between starting and relieving the previous two seasons, Houck was used exclusively as a starter by the Red Sox in 2023. The results were middling, with Houck finishing with an ERA over 5.00 and not posting an ERA below 4.00 in any month. His strikeout rate (21.4 percent) was also below the league average. Houck generates lots of grounders (53 percent) and does a good job of avoiding the long ball. However, he's always had problems with left-handed batters and usually gets worse as the game moves along, attributes which scream reliever. Whether the Red Sox go that route with the right-hander or give him another shot to start in 2024 isn't clear, and unless he's used as the closer (unlikely) he's probably not going to have much fantasy value in either role.
Houck was a stabilizing presence for a Red Sox bullpen that desperately needed one in 2022, as his already flexible role expanded even further to include shorter high-leverage outings and save opportunities. With Boston struggling to hold leads in the late innings, the 26-year-old received his first save chance in June and recorded six within a two-week span. Houck tied for the team lead with eight saves, but his season ended prematurely due to a disc issue in his back that required surgery. He finished with 60 innings across 32 appearances (four starts) with similar outputs to 2021, though his K-rate dipped nearly eight percentage points, from 30.5% to 22.7%. Houck expects to be cleared for the start of spring training and will spend this offseason building up to be a starter, but the Red Sox informed him he may end up back in the bullpen once the 2023 season starts. Kenley Jansen's arrival in free agency renders Houck much less relevant unless he actually makes the rotation or Jansen gets injured.
With Eduardo Rodriguez dealing with a sore arm to open the season, Houck broke camp with the Red Sox but was sent to the alternate site once Rodriguez was ready in mid-April. After dealing with a sore flexor muscle until mid-June, he spent the second half shuttling between Triple-A Worcester and the big club. While with the Red Sox, Houck made 18 appearances, starting five contests. Featuring an arsenal compared to a right-handed Chris Sale, Houck posted an impressive 3.52 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, buoyed by a 23.2% K-BB% which would have placed eighth among qualified starters, but he only tallied 69 frames, about 100 fewer than needed to make the leaderboard. If Houck can develop another secondary to complement his 94-mph fastball, wipeout slider and occasional splitter, he has ace potential. He should get a chance to prove himself as a member of Boston's starting rotation to begin the regular season.
Few prospects covered more developmental ground at their team's alternate training site than Houck, who cleaned up his crossfire delivery to the point that he may be able to stick in the rotation. His gains were rewarded with a three-start run to close the year, during which he dominated the Braves, Yankees and Marlins. He utilizes a four-seamer and a sinking two-seamer, both of which sit in the low-90s and touch 95 mph. Houck threw his wipeout mid-80s slider 94 times (35% usage), recording 10 strikeouts with the pitch while surrendering zero hits. Houck's fastball/slider combo is effective enough that he might be able to get by without a viable third pitch, but the development of his splitter would go a long way toward him sticking in Boston's rotation for years to come. He should get a pretty long leash in 2021, given the Red Sox's lack of rotation depth.
The Red Sox tried to teach Houck a four-seam fastball in 2018, but it was flat, straight and ineffective, so they had him go back to using the two-seamer primarily last season. It was that pitch -- regarded as one of the best two-seam fastballs in the 2017 draft class -- that led Boston to take Houck 24th overall that year. With the change back to a more familiar approach, Houck was able to advance to Triple-A, and he enjoyed a good deal of success out of the bullpen with Pawtucket, holding opponents to a .202 average in his 25 innings with the top affiliate. He allowed just a 12.5% line-drive rate at Triple-A. His walk rate spiked with the jump in levels and the strikeout rates have been modest so far in his professional career, but Houck is now a step away and could theoretically rise fast up the ranks in Boston's largely unsettled bullpen.
More Fantasy News
Brutal Grapefruit League finish
PBoston Red Sox
March 23, 2025
Houck allowed 10 runs on 12 hits and two walks while striking out two over 3.2 innings in Saturday's spring start against the Rays.
ANALYSIS
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Builds pitch count
PBoston Red Sox
March 18, 2025
Houck allowed two unearned runs on six hits while striking out three over 4.1 innings in Monday's Grapefruit League start against Baltimore.
ANALYSIS
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Roughed up Wednesday
PBoston Red Sox
March 13, 2025
Houck allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out two over 2.2 innings in Wednesday's Grapefruit League start against Minnesota.
ANALYSIS
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Looks to avoid second-half slump
PBoston Red Sox
February 26, 2025
Houck is taking measures to avoid the shoulder fatigue that led to a velocity dip in the second half of 2024, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Throwing indoors Monday
PBoston Red Sox
February 24, 2025
Houck threw indoors to make up for the innings he lost due to Monday's game against the Yankees getting postponed, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Had extension talks last year
PBoston Red Sox
February 22, 2023
Houck confirmed Wednesday to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com that he engaged in long-term extension talks with the Red Sox last year.
ANALYSIS
Those discussions ultimately fell flat, but Houck expressed an openness to trying again at some point in the near future. "If the opportunity on both sides is right, I'd be willing to," said the 26-year-old right-hander. "But both sides have to feel comfortable with an agreement." Houck is currently under team control with the Red Sox all the way through the 2027 season. He's vying for a spot in the Opening Day rotation this spring.
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