Brent Honeywell isn’t used to waiting around. Thanks to the power in his right arm and mastery of the screwball, he hasn’t had to. Honeywell opened the season as the Tampa Bay Rays’ No. 4 ranked overall prospect and No. 3 pitching prospect behind Blake Snell and Taylor Guerrieri.
Snell has already been boosted up to the Major League roster. It may not take too long for Honeywell to join him.
“I want to give these guys no excuse to keep me here,” Honeywell told me last week. “We’ve got a lot of good arms here right now. We’ve been strong. There’s a lot of good things happening here.”
Former Walters State pitcher Brent Honeywell was back in the area pitching against the Tennessee Smokies on Sunday pic.twitter.com/3wdNWZ1eSa
— Matt Daniels (MATTY D) (@The_Matty_D) August 8, 2016
Honeywell was at Smokies Park with the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits after getting called up from the High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs on July 7. He had a solid outing against the Tennessee Smokies in a no decision that the Rays’ farm hands would eventually win 7-5, pitching five innings with six hits, three runs, a walk and seven strikeouts.
It was a kind of homecoming for Honeywell too. The 21-year-old played his lone season of college baseball about 30 minutes east at JuCo powerhouse Walters State. Honeywell went 11-3 with a 2.95 for the Senators, who finished 2014 as the No. 7 ranked team in the country.
“I came to Smokies games all the time when I was at Walters State,” Honeywell said. “It’s fun to be on the same field that I used to watch games on (from the stands). I had one thing on my mind when I was at Walters State and that was to become a professional athlete as fast as I could. It’s eye-opening. My second home is just right down the road here.”
Brent Honeywell continuing strong Double-A debut in tonight's outing. Final for him tonight: 7 IP, 1R on 5H, 4K, 3BB. #Rays #MiLB
— Jessica Quiroli (@heelsonthefield) August 3, 2016
Honeywell only lasted a season at Walters State. The Rays drafted him in the second round of the 2014 MLB draft. He’s 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds and routinely hits the mid 90s on his fastball, but that’s not what got the scouts’ attention. It was Honeywell’s screwball, handed down to him from a former Major League Baseball Cy Young winner, that moved him up the draft boards.
“Not a lot of guys use it (the screwball) anymore because it’s hard to throw,” Honeywell said. “It’s not tough on your arm. It’s not an arm-wrecker. People think that because those guys in the old days threw 400 innings.”
On a beautiful night, Brent Honeywell is through 3 as the Biscuits and Generals remain locked 0-0 pic.twitter.com/shQCcHpGd0
— Montgomery Biscuits (@BiscuitBaseball) August 3, 2016
Honeywell learned the screwball from his dad, also Brent, who pitched three years in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system. The elder Brent Honeywell learned the screwball from his cousin, 1974 Cy Young award winner “Iron” Mike Marshall. Marshall won the award during his stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers, part of an MLB career that spanned 15 years.
“He (Marshall) was in spring training last year and he thought it (Honeywell’s screwball) was pretty good,” Honeywell said. “If he thought it was pretty good, that goes a long way.”
Honeywell himself has come a long way in a short time. He made the jump from Low-A to High-A in his first full season as a pro. Here in his second, he just made his seventh Double-A start on Aug. 13 in a 9-4 win over the Mobile BayBears. Throwing his screwball for strikes is a big reason he’s on the fast track.
“Not many people get the opportunity to play professional baseball,” Honeywell said. “This is my job, but it’s what I love to do. This is what I want to do. My only goal is to pitch in the big leagues. I want to pitch 15 years and want to be still pitching when I can only throw 85.”
.@RaysBaseball prospect @brent_honeywell chats with fans on his rest day after getting the W last night! pic.twitter.com/gb6ARVCCFj
— Montgomery Biscuits (@BiscuitBaseball) July 29, 2016
Honeywell has plans for his screwball and it’s one you or your kids might find useful down the road. As Honeywell continues to perfect the pitch, using it more and more as the hitters he faces improve, he can see it being utilized in your living room on your Playstation or XBox.
“I love throwing my fastball and I think it’s pretty good too,” Honeywell said. “But I understand. I’m the only dude that throws it (the screwball) right now. It’s not something that’s going away. It’s going to be a pitch if I’m in a video game someday. You’ll have to push the circle button. I throw it and I throw it a lot.”
