Hunter Dobbins

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Boston Red Sox #11 prospect in 2025
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Medium.
  
  Track Record: After Dobbins impressed with his strike-throwing and diverse mix in his first two years at Texas Tech, his stuff took a major step forward in workouts in the fall of 2020 when he started touching the upper 90s. He blew out before he could pitch in games that year, but the Red Sox drafted Dobbins in the eighth round in 2021 and signed him to a slightly over-slot $197,500 bonus. He returned to pro ball in 2022 with an expanded and refined repertoire, emerging as one of the most consistent pitchers in the system. The organization chose him as its minor league starting pitcher of the year in 2024, which he spent primarily at Double-A Portland.
  
  Scouting Report: Dobbins used to gradually build toward his top-end velocity. Now, he comes out firing by working at 94-96 mph and topping out at 98. He also employs a sweepy slider, curveball, cutter and low-90s splinker, with the latter two pitches having been developed in 2024. He doesn’t have a single killer pitch to generate a ton of whiffs, but he steers clear of barrels. His home run rate of 0.14 per nine innings in 2024 was third-lowest among minor league starters with 80 or more innings. Dobbins exhibited wide platoon splits in four Triple-A starts, generating swings and misses on 18% of his pitches against righthanded hitters and 10% against lefthanded ones.
  
  The Future: Dobbins was added to the 40-man as a near big league-ready contributor who likely will open 2025 in the Triple-A rotation. He could emerge as a back-end starter, but his likelier role is as a multi-inning reliever.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 45 | Curveball: 40 | Slider: 50 | Cutter: 40 | Split: 45 | Control: 55.
• 
  Ranked Boston Red Sox #26 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Dobbins was a promising power arm at Texas Tech but blew out his elbow and required Tommy John surgery prior to his junior year. The Red Sox felt comfortable with their history with him and bet on his athleticism and work ethic to give him a strong chance of recovering. They drafted him in the eighth round in 2021. He had a decent pro debut in Low-A Salem in 2022, then asserted himself as a prospect in 2023. He posted an 8.8-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with High-A Greenville that led the South Atlantic League and earned a quick promotion to Double-A Portland.
  
  Scouting Report: Dobbins fills the strike zone with four pitches that project to be fringe-average or better. He has above-average command of a fastball that sits at 93-94 mph and tops out at 96. He also has a slider that showed potential to miss bats in the zone, a curveball, a splitter with good action that he’s still learning to control, and a sweeper he developed in 2023. His control is above-average with average command.
  
  The Future: Dobbins has enough tools to become a potential back-end starter if he can develop one pitch--likely his slider--into a plus offering, but he more likely fits as a multi-inning or bulk reliever.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55