FORT MYERS -- His mid-90s two-seam fastball from a low arm slot -- not unlike Chris Sale’s, except from the right side -- was widely considered one of the best in the 2017 MLB Draft.
And then Tanner Houck decided to change it.
At the Red Sox’ request, the club’s first-round pick a year ago went home over the winter and tested his well-regarded two-seam fastball against a brand-new four-seamer. With the help of a Rapsodo, a machine designed to read velocity and spin rates, Houck couldn’t believe the results.
“It was night and day,” he said Friday morning before a workout at JetBlue Park.