PORTLAND — Think of the 2010 Red Sox draft, and top picks Kolbrin Vitek, Bryce Brentz and Anthony Ranaudo come to mind.
Boston’s fourth choice was a tall, fastball-throwing pitcher from the University of Texas.
Additional Photos
Brandon Workman has not received a lot of attention. But that could change.
Workman made his Double-A debut Tuesday night with the Portland Sea Dogs and threw six near-perfect innings in a 13-2 romp over the Altoona Curve before 6,403 at Hadlock Field.
The Sea Dogs (56-65) brought their offense. Marquez Smith, Ronald Bermudez and Xander Bogaerts all homered. Travis Shaw and Christian Bermudez each had two doubles.
Workman, who turned 24 on Monday, retired the first 12 batters he faced. After allowing two ground singles to the outfield, he retired the last six he faced.
“That’s a pretty good arm,” Sea Dogs Manager Kevin Boles said. “Quality fastball. Maintained a consistent tempo and utilized his mix. Pretty impressive debut.
“He’s very aggressive toward the (strike) zone. There’s no fear in that department.”
Besides no walks, Workman didn’t even reach a three-ball count all night. Of the 20 batters he faced, only seven got to a two-ball count.
“He commanded his fastball,” said catcher Christian Vazquez, who also caught Workman in Salem. “He trusted his stuff.”
The fastball began between 95 and 96 mph and settled in at 92 most of the night.
He also threw a curve, cut fastball and change-up.
Workman, 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, pitched all last season at Class A Greenville (3.71 ERA). This year, with advanced Class A Salem, he carried a 3.40 ERA in 20 games (107 strikeouts/20 walks).
For Portland, the ERA sits at 0.00.
“I try to throw a lot of strikes and stay ahead of hitters,” Workman said. “I kind of had it all working tonight.”
Ryan Pressly relieved and allowed two runs in the seventh on two doubles and a sacrifice fly. He also struck out three, as did the final reliever, Chris Martin.
Altoona’s Tyler Waldron (1-1) was making only his second Double-A start. He didn’t last long, leaving with one out in the second inning, and the Sea Dogs already ahead 5-0.
NOTES: Tonight’s game features a duel between past and present Red Sox left-handed prospects. Drake Britton (3-5, 4.02 ERA) goes for Portland, and former Sea Dogs lefty Kris Johnson (1-1, 2.84) starts for Altoona. Johnson, 27, a first-round draft pick, pitched in Portland in 2008-09. He was released last year and was signed by Pittsburgh. Johnson has both started and relieved in Double-A and Triple-A this year. …
Another former Portland player returned in an Altoona uniform. Left fielder Oscar Tejeda was put on waivers June 24 and signed by the Pirates. He went 1 for 4 and is batting .261 in 36 games with the Curve.
Tonight is “NASCAR Night” at Hadlock, featuring cars and drivers from Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at: kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: ClearTheBases
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.