On journey to Red Sox, pitcher (up to 97 mph) laid floors, paid for MRI

Zach Penrod’s lengthy journey to the Red Sox included overcoming a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, paying for an MRI on his elbow, laying down floors with his dad and pitching three years in Indy Ball.

Boston signed the left-handed pitcher Aug. 16 out of the independent Pioneer League, then assigned him to High-A Greenville.

“The situation we were in, we were needing a starter,” Greenville manager Iggy Suarez said. “We had heard they (baseball operations) had been looking to go the independent route. We’re like, ‘OK. we’re just going to need a body to kind of fill in because we’re struggling right now.’ ... But then when he comes aboard, we’re like, ‘This guy was in independent ball?’ The stuff that he had — next thing you know he’s pitching Game 1 of the playoffs for us and he’s in the clinching game to win the championship for us.”

The 26-year-old Penrod turned heads with a 94-97 mph fastball, 85-89 mph power slider and changeup. He went 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA (20 ⅔ innings, five earned runs) and 1.31 WHIP in four regular season starts for Greenville. He then pitched in two of the Drive’s four playoff games. He earned wins in Game 1 of the Division Series against Hickory and Game 2 (the clincher) of the South Atlantic League championship vs. Hudson Valley.

“And he threw the home opener here in the fall league,” said Suarez, who managed the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League.

Penrod made four starts for Glendale and led all Arizona Fall League starters in ERA (1.29).

“For me, I told him I’m happy to be along for the ride,” Suarez said. “It was pretty cool to experience that. Everybody says the same thing. ‘He was in independent ball?’ I’m like, ‘I know. I don’t know how we got him but I’m glad we got him.’”

Penrod went undrafted after playing two years at NAIA Corban University and two years at Division II Northwest Nazarene University. He signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers on Aug. 2, 2018. But he missed the 2019 season because he underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2019 and the Rangers released him June 1, 2020. At the time, many minor leaguers throughout the league were released due to the COVID shutdown.

“It was obviously very disappointing ... just because of the route I took to get to that spot being an undrafted free agent,” he said about Texas releasing him.

“At the time, the future was very hazy,” Penrod added. “I really didn’t know what to do. I had no plan. And then luckily, when they restructured the Pioneer League, they included Boise. And that’s my hometown. So I was able to go out and try out for the team and then it kind of rolled from there.”

He struggled with both Boise and Billings during 2021 and ‘22 but he dominated for Missoula this past summer. He went 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA (54 ⅓ innings, 18 earned runs) and 1.31 WHIP in 13 games (10 starts) for the PaddleHeads.

Every team is searching for left-handed pitchers, especially those who throw in the mid-to-upper 90s. So how did Penrod go overlooked for so long?

“I think it was more along the lines of staying healthy more than being overlooked,” Penrod said.

He added, “I think a lot of it was just staying healthy. I had a hard time early on staying healthy. My time with Texas, I spent most of the time rehabbing. And then after that, struggling to put together full independent league seasons. But I finally got a wrap on that and my arm started feeling better. And I kind of knew that if I could just stay healthy, the velo would be there and like everything would be there, and then I could just figure it out from there. Once I stayed healthy, things started to go better. I started to get more consistent, more comfortable on the mound.”

Penrod has worked during offseasons for his dad, Jon, who owns a flooring business. He called it tough work often in “cold” conditions.

“But it works with my schedule. He lets me do what I need to do,” Penrod said about his dad. “If I need to slip away to go throw for a couple hours, he’ll let me do that. And if he goes out of town, he lets me stay back to make sure I get my workouts in or he’ll (book) a hotel with a gym to make sure I have all the stuff I need.

“We’ll lay out the LVP or it will be vinyl, carpet, stuff like that,” Penrod added. “Just kind of getting people’s houses ready for ‘em, which actually is pretty enjoyable. I do enjoy working with homeowners. My dad instilled a really strong work ethic in me. I like to tell him he’s of a dying breed of people who do things the right way the first time. I really enjoy when a homeowner comes in and they are really happy with the work we did.”

Penrod said the mental aspect was the most difficult part of recovering from Tommy John surgery.

“You’re never going to feel fantastic,” he said. “There’s times I do feel really good but there’s always those little aches ... that come with it just from having a reconstructed elbow. And so just kind of learning that on my own. I went and paid for my own MRI one time because my elbow was hurting so bad I didn’t know if I had blown out again. So I had to go do that. And so just kind of that mental reassurance that it was fine, obviously. So I kind of just psyched myself out. Kind of a waste of money but the peace of mind was there.”

He said his whole family — not just his dad/flooring boss — has helped get him back to affiliated ball.

“My mom (Tracy) has been a huge part of it as well. And then my older brother has been kind of my coach/mentor,” Penrod said.

Penrod’s older brother, Skyler, who also played at Corban University and Northwest Nazarene University, has served as the head coach at Columbia High in Nampa, Idaho, since 2016. Skyler texts his brother after every outing to tell him what he needs to do better.

“He lets me use the facility (at the high school) and he’ll let me throw to guys. He’ll set stuff up for me,” Penrod said. “Just kind of everybody in my family has really pushed me and helped me. My younger brother Trevor, he was playing college, he would let me throw to him.”

Penrod said his younger brother JT, who plays baseball at Big Bend Community College, is his workout partner.

“I like to tell people I had my little brother to keep me consistent in the offseason in the gym last year because he was pushing me like crazy,” Penrod said.

He said building strength in the weight room is one reason his velocity has increased. He said his fastball velo was 90-93 mph and down into the high-80s sometimes when he pitched in the Rangers system. He said he probably didn’t throw more than two fastballs below 91 mph in 2023.

His wife Kyla Penrod also has been a huge support.

“She’s been around for all of it,” Penrod said. “She been here for eight years. So she’s been through everything.”

Penrod and Kyla met during the night of their high school graduation. They never knew each other before. They met, hit it off and have been together ever since.

The two got married during the Arizona Fall League season. Penrod took four days off and they held the ceremony at Zion National Park in Utah.

“So I flew home to Boise to help pack up the car,” he said. “The next morning at 6 a.m. we drove down to Zion, about eight hours. And then spent the weekend there, got married on Sunday and then Monday we took some pictures in the morning and then drove eight hours back to Boise.”

All the hard work has paid off.

“It’s tough to see it when you’re going through it in the offseason and you’re wanting to quit and your arm is hurting because it’s cold outside,” he said. “Then you get to this point and you realize it’s very much worth it. I remember reflecting after the championship in Greenville. I can’t believe I’m here. What a year. What a turn it took. And then to find myself here and in the situation I am in, I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity. And then to be able to succeed in it is just a feeling like none other.”