Fantasy Baseball: Buy, Sell, Or Hold Boston Red Sox Pitcher Tanner Houck

Tanner Houck's last start was one of the worst in baseball in 2025. His success last year (3.12 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 154 strikeouts over 178.2 innings), paired with double starts this week, made him a spot-starter in 12-team leagues and almost a must-play in deeper formats.

After struggling over his first two appearances (seven runs, 17 baserunners, and three home runs over 9.2 innings with eight strikeouts), Houck pitched much better on April 9th against the Blue Jays (one run and seven baserunners over 6.2 innings with two strikeouts).

Last night, his first pitch of the game landed in the seat, followed by quickly retiring three batters (line out, ground ball, and ground ball).

In the second inning, Houck allowed two infield singles and created his own drama by serving up another home run, followed by a walk. With two outs, Brandon Lowe went the other way with an opposite-field single, driving in two more runs.

Disaster struck in the third inning; Jonathan Aranda opened up with a ground ball up the middle, just outside the reach of the second baseman. Christopher Morel poked a seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield. Kameron Misner reached on an infield single (off the second baseman’s glove).

With the bases loaded, Taylor Walls hit another ground ball that was just slow enough for the Red Sox not to turn a double play. The next ground ball by Danny Jansen ended with a throwing error by Alex Bregman. After two more singles to the outfield, the frustrated Houck walked Brandon Lowe and headed for the showers. The bullpen allowed all three baserunners to score.

Tanner Houck's Final Pitching Line (4/14):

2.1 innings pitched

10 hits

12 runs

11 earned runs

2 walks

1 strikeout

2 home runs

Tanner Houck is the first pitcher in Red Sox franchise history to allow 12+ R in a start of fewer than 3 IP.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) April 15, 2025

Based on his failure, Houck will be dropped in all 12-team leagues this week. Many fantasy managers in 15-team formats will look to replace him as well.

In the end, yesterday was an off night for Houck, but at least half of his 10 hits allowed were ground balls that weren’t far off from outs. Eight of his hits allowed were singles. His four-seamer (96.4) and sinker (95.1) had plenty of velocity last night.

I liked the direction of Houck’s arm coming into the year, and I get that he has buried some teams in ERA (9.16) and WHIP (1.93) over his first four starts. Home runs (five over 18.2 innings) have been a problem. When a pitcher has an off day, I can live with those negative outcomes if they can pitch at least five innings and allow five or six runs.

I'm scooping him up if I see Houck on the waiver wire in my 15-team formats. If I have him on my roster, I’m holding. In shallower leagues, pitcher comparisons in the free-agent pool are different, making him a watch for now while only using Houck in his next double-start week if his matchups are favorable and his right arm turns the corner over his next couple of outings.

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