“I threw a fastball and I heard it pop,” said Lakins. “I didn’t say anything to my coaches, but I knew I was done for the year, so I just wanted to get through the inning.

At the end of last July, in the last of his 19 outings for High A Salem, righthander Travis Lakins thought he’d arrived at the moment pitchers dread. In the fifth inning of a start against the Nationals’ Carolina League affiliate, the 22-year-old’s stomach dropped when he heard a sound in his elbow.


Lakins figured his departure from the field was a prelude to Tommy John surgery, the conclusion of a challenging first full pro season in which he posted a 5.93 ERA with 7.8 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine innings. Instead, he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in the tip of his right elbow — an injury that would require three months of rest and rehab, but not surgery.

And so, instead of missing the 2017 season, Lakins has been back on the mound, once again with Salem. And thus far, he’s been dominant.

In two outings, Lakins has a 0.79 ERA with 17 strikeouts and one walk in 11⅓ innings. The contrast with 2016 has been “night and day,” in the words of Salem pitching coach Paul Abbott, who identified a few reasons for the emergence.

First, Lakins has moved from the first-base side of the rubber to the third-base side, a move that Abbott described as making him more uncomfortable for righthanders to face and that Lakins said had made him “less rotational,” helping him to do a better job of throwing strikes. Along those lines, Abbott said that the 2015 sixth-rounder has smoothed out his mechanics, improving his ability to repeat his delivery and thus command the strike zone.


And finally, Lakins has tightened his slider — his fourth pitch last year — into more of a cutter, turning it into what Abbott described as “big-time weapon.”

“It’s really been my wipeout pitch,” agreed Lakins, who struck out six batters with the pitch in his most recent start.

Both the use of a cutter and the employment of a four-pitch mix — Lakins’s fastball this year has averaged 94 m.p.h. and topped out at 97, and he also shows inconsistent flashes of a quality curveball and changeup — represent noteworthy developments for a Red Sox pitching prospect in the lower minors.

For the most part, until the last couple of years, the Red Sox wanted their prospects in the lower levels to focus on three primary pitches (a fastball, changeup, and one breaking ball), and with only occasional exceptions, they discouraged their starters from using cutters early in their pro careers. Recently, however, the team has been more open to having pitchers add a fourth pitch to their mixes, with cutters becoming an option as early as Single A Greenville.

“Guys can move fast, but they can’t move fast unless they have the arsenals to get people out at the higher levels. We know that if they’re going to be starters they need to have three viable pitches they can count on. If they have four, it can turn out better,” said Red Sox pitching coordinator Ralph Treuel. “We’re trying to equip our guys I think a little bit sooner than later, especially once they go to Double A. We’re trying to make sure they have enough weapons so they can almost be an extension of the major league staff once they get to Double A.


“Sometimes you hear, ‘Give the curveball three or four years.’ But sometimes it doesn’t work, and it’s not going to work in three or four years. You take a different route,” added Treuel. “Maybe it’s a slider. Maybe it’s a split. It’s getting guys to do more of what they’re going to do to get major league hitters out.”

Lakins is amid a very promising time in his own development. His 2016 struggles notwithstanding, his stuff suggests upside that can rival that of virtually any pitcher in the system save, perhaps, for 2016 first-rounder Jason Groome.

“If he gets a handle on his changeup, his ceiling is limitless,” said Abbott.

For that reason, Lakins’s early progress in 2017 ranks among the most intriguing developments in the Red Sox system.

Johnson escapes injury

Lefthander Brian Johnson endured a scare in his first start of the season, departing when he took a line drive off the side of the head. But Johnson — whose pro debut in 2012 came to an early conclusion when a line drive fractured several bones in his face in his second start for Lowell — emerged from this incident relatively unharmed, and ended up turning in a dominant performance for Pawtucket on Thursday afternoon. The lefthander logged 6⅔ innings, allowing one run on four hits while walking one and punching out eight.


In two outings, Johnson has 15 strikeouts in 10⅔ innings, and his fastball velocity — which was in the mid to upper 80s last year – has ticked back up to 88-90. His curveball has also been sharper than it was in 2016, resulting in more swings and misses.

Two other top PawSox prospects, catcher Blake Swihart and first baseman Sam Travis, collided while chasing a foul ball on Tuesday. Though both have been out of the PawSox lineup in the last two days, a weekend return seems likely. Swihart has been off to an excellent start in Triple A, hitting .333/.409/.500 while receiving solid marks for his work behind the plate.

Groome, the Sox’ first-round pick in 2016, walked off with a trainer after a rough debut with Single A Greenville in which he allowed nine runs in 1⅓ innings. The injury was a mild lat strain that resulted in the 18-year-old lefthander’s placement on the seven-day DL. Although a timeline for his return has yet to be determined, the injury is considered far less alarming than an arm injury would have been.

Slugging in Salem

First baseman Josh Ockimey is off to a strong start in High A Salem. Over a four-game span, he went 11 for 18, and entered Thursday hitting .462/.500/.692. After struggling with a pull-happy approach in the second half last year for Single A Greenville, the 21-year-old has once again been driving the ball to left field, with all three of his extra-base hits coming from that direction of the field.