FORT MYERS, Fla. -- There has never been a question, during Allen Webster's still relatively brief career as a pitcher, about whether the right-hander had the stuff to be a big league starting pitcher. He has electric weapons -- a tremendous fastball with velocity and sink, an off-the-charts changeup, a swing-and-miss slider and curveball -- that fit the profile of a big league starting pitcher, and potentially a frontline one at that.

Still, he has faced questions about whether his control (and hence pitch efficiency) would permit him to stay in the rotation or if his long-term future might be as an impact reliever. After all, in Double-A last year, Webster walked 4.2 batters per nine innings, a tick up from his career yield of 3.8 walks per nine -- a high rate that made it fair to wonder whether, even with his great stuff, his ultimate future was in the rotation. In some ways, his stuff was at times too good for his own good.

"The development part with him has just been trying to control the movement on his fastball," noted Chuck Crim, Webster's pitching coach for parts of the last four years in the Dodgers' minor league system. "He's got such great movement that, for a young kid, to learn where to start it and end it, to keep it in the zone and keep it in play is tough, especially as hard as he throws it."

That is what has made Webster's performance this year in spring training with the Red Sox so intriguing. A pitcher with a history of command woes has exhibited anything but issues with pounding the strike zone in Red Sox camp.

Webster worked three innings against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, allowing one unearned run while striking out three and walking none. It was the latest installment in what has become a serial study in dominance.

"He's pretty damn good," said Sox manager John Farrell, who marveled specifically at a diving 3-2 changeup that Webster threw to punch out Lars Anderson. "He's showing the ability to throw a breaking ball to both sides of the plate, in addition to a live fastball, heavy sink. He's done a great job."

But Webster has long had swing-and-miss stuff. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of his spring has been that he's been filling up the strike zone, finding ways to remain on the attack against opposing hitters and refusing to issue free passes.

Webster has struck out 14 and walked just one batter in his 11 innings this spring. That represents, if not a breakthrough, then an unexpected and incredibly promising sign for the young right-hander.

"The strike-throwing ability, particularly early in the count ... has maybe been somewhat better than anticipated," said Farrell. "The one thing that he's grasping is that with his stuff and the action of his two-seamer, he doesn't have to pitch to a third of the plate. He can be more aggressive on the white part of the plate, and it's allowed him to pitch and at least execute strike one at a higher rate. It just opens up so many more options for him. In a nutshell, it's his ability to attack the strike zone, strike one."

The Sox worked with Webster on two subtle mechanical tweaks this spring in an effort to let his stuff play in the strike zone on a more consistent basis.

"Awesome," Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves said of Webster's command this spring. "The alterations he has made have paid off, and you can see it. He's done a great job. Right away you can see the alterations he has made. Nothing has changed with his arm angle or his repertoire. It just has been to his delivery."

The first tweak pertained to where the 23-year-old was setting up on the mound.

"A lot of two-seamer guys, they're either in the middle of the rubber or on the first base side of the rubber. Webby was way on the right side, so you see him chasing right-handers a lot because he's so far away. So when you move him over it gives him an easier plane to throw his sinker," said Nieves. "Instead of sitting on the third-base side trying to throw a sinker, you place him in the middle and the sinker plays a little more on top of the plate and you can run balls into righties. He can sink it away from a lefty. He can actually front-door a lefty or back-door a righty at a different angle."

The second related to Webster's head position when he threw toward the plate. At the start of spring, his head would drop slightly as he worked toward the plate. The Sox worked with Webster to keep his head upright to create better direction to the plate, keeping him on a line that more easily extended to the strike zone.

"He has a little bit of dive in his delivery so we just try and control that dive a little bit. He would actually take his chin and put in his left shoulder sometimes. This way we're trying to keep his eyes horizontal and be able to work over the front side, which is a lot better," said Nieves. "He can throw the ball to his best of his ability, and the ball is in the strike zone, it's nice. You don't have to be darting pitches in, being across your body. It's almost like throwing a straight right and you're across your body. When you're line with the plate you can let the ball fly a little more."

And that is precisely what Webster has done this spring to such impressive effect. He has not merely been successful but dominant this spring, with some indication that he's making strides in the one area that represented his largest developmental impediment. In each of the four times he's taken the mound this spring, Webster has been a show-stopper, a pitcher with the athleticism and aptitude to make relatively quick adjustments in a fashion that inspires visions of a big future.

"How can you not be impressed with a guy who throws 97, with good poise, repeats his delivery, good athlete?" noted Nieves. "The sky's the limit with this kid."