‘Roller coaster’ ride takes Idaho native from obscurity to MLB roster in just one year

Michael Lycklama, Idaho Stateman

NAMPA (Idaho Statesman) — The roller-coaster thrust for Nampa autochthonal Zach Penrod reached a caller precocious Saturday.

The left-handed pitcher made his Major League debut for nan Boston Red Sox, throwing a scoreless eighth inning astatine Yankee Stadium. Not bad for personification playing successful an independent convention and considering status arsenic small arsenic a twelvemonth ago.

“I support utilizing nan word roller coaster because that’s nan only measurement I tin really picture it,” Penrod, 27, told nan Boston Globe. “It’s ups and downs, being that I was reasoning astir being done astatine nan commencement of nan twelvemonth past year. And past to find myself astatine Yankee Stadium, I deliberation it’s thing that I don’t deliberation I’ll ever forget.”

The 34th Idaho native to scope Major League Baseball flew nether nan radar astir of his life. After graduating from Columbia High successful 2015, he spent 2 seasons astatine Corban University, an NAIA programme successful Oregon, earlier transferring location to Northwest Nazarene, wherever he sounded but was chiefly an outfielder.

The Texas Rangers took a flier connected nan 6-2 lefty successful 2018, signing him arsenic an undrafted free agent. But he made only 4 appearances that summertime earlier Tommy John room costs him nan 2019 season, and nan Rangers trim him up of nan 2020 campaign.

Fighting to enactment successful nan game, he joined nan hometown Boise Hawks successful 2021 aft they lost their Major League affiliation. That marked nan first of 3 summers pinch 3 different clubs successful nan independent Pioneer League, and he began to wonderment whether it was clip to springiness up his dream.

Then nan Red Sox came calling. Boston needed arms to eat up innings for its low-level insignificant convention clubs past summer. But pinch his mid-90s fastball, Penrod soon proved himself a steal. He made nan Arizona Fall League’s all-star team, started 2024 successful Double-A and earned a promotion to Triple-A successful May.

The Red Sox moved him into nan bullpen successful Triple-A Worcester, and he soon deed 99 mph connected nan radar gun. He didn’t station sparkling numbers successful Triple-A (5.93 ERA), but he continued to show he could overpower hitters, striking retired 40 successful 27 ⅓ innings for a strikeout complaint of 13.2 batters per 9 innings.

“Honestly, I benignant of conscionable went backmost to having nosy playing nan game,” he told nan Boston Herald. “I deliberation for a while location … I was conscionable trying truthful difficult to get picked up again. I felt for illustration that was nan extremity that I needed to accomplish. But conscionable uncovering myself and having nosy and doing what I do — and remembering it’s a kid’s crippled and we’re each present to person nosy and person a blast — has helped maine retired a batch pinch confidence.”

The telephone he waited his full life came Friday night, but Penrod didn’t prime up. He didn’t admit nan number and was putting his newborn daughter, Noa, to sleep.

A 2nd effort by Red Sox officials yet sewage through, and he hopped a formation astatine 5:30 a.m. nan adjacent greeting to subordinate nan Red Sox for their bid astatine Yankee Stadium. He headed consecutive from nan airdrome to nan field.

“I couldn’t extremity smiling, and past I went retired to nan section and conscionable looked astir for a second,” Penrod told nan Boston Herald. “I was conscionable stunned. It was a really typical moment.”

He didn’t get overmuch of a soft landing. After New York’s Aaron Judge doubled to lead disconnected nan eighth, Boston called connected nan left-hander to thief seal an eventual 7-1 victory. Penrod struck retired nan first 2 batters he faced earlier a locomotion and a popular alert for a scoreless inning of work.

“Eight days ago, they had a baby, truthful today’s (the) second-best time of his life,” Red Sox head Alex Cora told The Associated Press. “That’s nan measurement we presented today. (He was) very calm connected nan mound. Then erstwhile he sewage nan 3rd out, he sat down connected nan dugout and he collapsed down. He collapsed down.

“I mean, we had truthful galore stories astir that nan past fewer years — independent baseball, released, Tommy John, and past they show up to Yankee Stadium and past get 3 outs. That’s nan cool point astir this.”

Penrod followed that pinch his 2nd quality Sunday, striking retired 1 and inducing Giancarlo Stanton into a grounder for a scoreless ⅔ of an inning.

The first 2 appearances people nan commencement of a late-season audition pinch nan Red Sox’s reeling bullpen. Boston relievers ain baseball’s worst ERA since nan all-star break, nan Boston Herald reported. And entering Tuesday, nan Red Sox stay 4 games retired of nan past chaotic paper spot pinch 12 games remaining, making nan postseason a agelong shot, astatine best.

You could opportunity nan aforesaid astir Penrod. Yet present he is, stepping into a big-league clubhouse, donning an MLB azygous and looking for 1 much thrust connected this roller coaster.

MORE IDAHOANS IN MLB

Penrod is 1 of 3 Idaho natives presently connected a Major League roster.

Timberline grad Michael Stefanic comes pinch a Hollywood-worth communicative of his own. He went undrafted retired of assemblage earlier sending a homemade item reel to each 30 teams successful hopes of earning a tryout. Six years later, nan 28-year-old inferior infielder is successful nan midst of his 3rd play pinch nan Angels, hitting .221 successful Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Coeur d’Alene autochthonal Kyle Manzardo made his MLB debut successful May. Cleveland’s No. 2-ranked imaginable struggled astatine first. But nan Guardians recalled him Sept. 1, and nan 24-year-old designated hitter is hitting .224 pinch 2 location runs and 10 RBIs successful 43 games.