WORCESTER — A lot has changed in a short amount of time for WooSox pitcher Zach Penrod, and all he can do is take it day by day.
Luckily for him, those life changes have been positive ones – not only is his wife, Kyla, 36 weeks pregnant with their first child, but Penrod is also putting himself in the conversation for a late-season call-up to the majors, almost exactly one year after he was plucked out of the independent leagues and signed to a minor-league deal with the Red Sox.
“It’s very exciting, especially over the course of the last four years being in indy ball, I never really thought I’d be in this position,” Penrod said. “So I’m just trying to enjoy each day that I get to go out there more than anything, and take care of what I need to take care of and kind of just let things fall into place as they go.”
Much of the past year has been a whirlwind for the 27-year-old Penrod. First, he was picked up in August 2023 by the Red Sox while playing for the Missoula PaddleHeads of the Pioneer League. He’d been kicking around the indy league since May 2021, ending up playing in places like Boise, Idaho and Billings, Montana. He had undergone Tommy John surgery in April 2019 and was released from the Texas Rangers organization, leaving him searching for opportunities.
Fast forward to 2024, and Penrod opened eyes in Portland to start the season, posting a 2.80 ERA in seven starts and averaged an impressive 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings. That earned him a promotion to Worcester in late May. His excellent season hit a speed bump soon after as he landed on the injured list with a shin issue.
Now Penrod’s back in action, and he’s in a new role that might be able to help the big-league team this season.
Penrod has come out of the bullpen in his last three appearances, and before that he was pitching shorter outings as a starter. In his three most recent appearances since shifting fully to the ‘pen, Penrod hasn’t allowed a run and has given up just two hits and struck out four in three innings.
“The decrease in workload was nice. Obviously going from starting, throwing like 75, 80 pitches, it’s a little bit easier going one inning, hoping the workload gets bigger from here,” Penrod said. But just kind of getting into my legs a little bit more has been my key for me. Trying to get comfortable to slow down the mound and then kind of explode late. That’s kind of what I’ve been working on, and it’s obviously translating.”
One of the most attractive aspects of Penrod’s makeup is his potential for high velocity; he hit 99 mph in Friday night’s outing, and lives in the high 90s with his fastball.
“That one was wild,” Penrod says of hitting 99 on Friday. “I’m still chasing that hundred, just trying to go for it. It’s been my goal since surgery. So it’s crazy that I’m getting close now.”
Right now, Penrod knows when he’s getting into the game. He’s still on a schedule that affords him plenty of rest between starts. That should change after next week, but the team is giving Penrod time to adjust to the new role.
“Once we feel like he’s grounded and he’s got his footing with that, we’ll start to say, ‘hey, you’re in the bullpen today. We’ll let you know,’” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said. “When the phone rings, you’ll find out and, and be a little bit more of a mystery, that’s part of it, sitting down there twiddling your thumbs, waiting for the phone ring and not knowing if it’s your name.”
That being said, the move to the bullpen for Penrod is likely to last the rest of this season, but he may end up back in the rotation next season.
Given the state of the Red Sox bullpen recently, Penrod could be in line to get a look at some point soon. Between thinking about the possibility of becoming a big-leaguer and the certainty of becoming a dad very soon, Penrod is just trying to take it all one day at a time.
“I think I’ll take a second to breathe when the season’s over,” Penrod said. “Like I’d like to get there and enjoy it and then like when the season’s over, just kind of take a deep breath and just realize everything that I’ve accomplished over the year and just what a crazy year it’s been, and we’ll go from there.”
WooSox 3, IronPigs 0
Brad Keller turned in a very strong performance, tossing six scoreless innings and allowing just four hits and a walk. Keller initially declined the option to Worcester when he was designated for assignment by the Red Sox, but opted to sign a minor-league deal and return to the WooSox.
The WooSox pitching staff has been excellent this series, especially over the last two days, turning in 18 scoreless innings, seven of those coming from the bullpen. On Saturday it was Greg Weissert (1 IP, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts) and Joely Rodriguez (2IP, no hits, 2 strikeouts) who shut the door on the IronPigs.
Kyle Teel collected his first Triple-A hit in the second inning, singling to center. He came around and scored on Jamie Westbrook’s RBI double. Westbrook also smacked his first triple of the season later in the game.
Chase Meidroth reached base three times with two hits and a walk.
Notes
-Marcelo Mayer has yet to make his WooSox debut despite getting promoted over the weekend. Mayer is still dealing with some “lingering tightness” according to Tracy and the Red Sox don’t want to see him in the lineup until he’s back to 100 percent.
Mayer has run the bases, fielded grounders and taken batting practice, but
“He’s close but we’re not going to throw him out there until we know everything’s clear,” Tracy said. “You do these things and you don’t know how your body’s going to necessarily respond the next day. If we get beyond [being sore and tight], he’ll be in there.”
-Pitcher Liam Hendriks is scheduled to make an appearance in Sunday’s WooSox game. Hendriks is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
-Outfielder Mark Contreras was placed on the 7-day injured list with a shoulder injury after landing hard on a dive earlier this week.
“He’s sore,” Tracy said. “It’s going to be at least a week. He banged it up pretty good.”
What’s Next
The WooSox will finish out their series against the IronPigs on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. with Jason Alexander getting the start. Hendriks is expected to come in later in the game.
