Jake Bennett’s dominant Worcester start puts Red Sox call-up buzz on rise

Jake Bennett is forcing the Red Sox to think beyond the usual Triple-A patience. Through four Worcester starts, the 25-year-old left-hander has carved out a 0.55 ERA and a 0.615 WHIP over 16.1 innings, the kind of numbers that turn a promising arm into an immediate call-up watch.

Bennett’s latest push came in an April 11 win over Columbus, when Worcester used 5.1 strong innings from the 6-foot-6 southpaw to improve to 9-3. That followed a five-inning scoreless outing on April 4, when he struck out four and kept the ball off the scoreboard. For a club looking to build innings and reduce stress on its pitching staff, those are the kinds of starts that matter.

Boston did not acquire a mystery project. The Red Sox got Bennett from Washington on December 15, 2025, in exchange for right-hander Luis Perales, and MLB.com quickly installed him as Boston’s No. 7 prospect. The profile is obvious: a left-handed pitcher from Tulsa, Oklahoma, listed at 234 pounds, who was drafted by the Nationals in the second round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, 45th overall, out of Oklahoma. He is big, physical and built in the mold Boston has been targeting under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

The road here has not been simple. Bennett had Tommy John surgery in 2023, then came back in 2025 to post a 2.27 ERA over 19 appearances and 18 starts across three minor league levels before adding Arizona Fall League innings. That rebound matters because it suggests the early Worcester surge is not a fluke, but the continuation of a pitcher who has already shown he can return from major surgery and keep missing bats.

The fit in Boston looks real because Bennett brings a skill set the Red Sox can use in more than one way. The first opening would likely come as rotation depth, whether that means a spot start, a bulk-inning role or a quick promotion if Boston needs a left-handed arm who can handle multiple innings. With Bennett joining a system that also includes another large, hard-throwing prospect in Payton Tolle, Worcester’s early-season run is becoming part of a broader organizational trend.

For now, Bennett has done the most convincing thing a prospect can do in April. He has made Triple-A hitters look overmatched, and he has made a big-league call-up feel less like a possibility than the next logical step.