Brayan Bello had a tough start to his career, bouncing back and forth from the minors to the big leagues. The Boston Red Sox haven’t been able to develop young starting pitchers well in recent years. The 24-year-old is changing that.
When you look at the rotation for Boston it’s been anything but consistent. The only consistency is mediocracy. The pitching staff as a whole ranks 20th in ERA (4.39), 18th in WHIP (1.29), and 21st in hits allowed per game (8.72). However, the bullpen has improved from last year, as injuries have likely been the leading cause for them not being in the top 10 of the MLB. They currently rank 13th according to FanGraphs.
How Bello has reached this point
One thing that has crippled the Red Sox over the last several years has been their inability to hold on to and develop young pitchers. Former general manager (GM) Dave Dombrowski had a “win now” mindset that evidently resulted in a 2018 World Series win. What he sacrificed on many occasions, though, was a healthy farm system. Current GM Chaim Bloom believes that every good organization must always have a healthy farm system. This has led to the Red Sox being able to see the growth and development of a future ace in Bello.
Bello was signed in 2017, as an 18-year-old out of the Dominican Republic. Like the Red Sox often do, they took a chance on an unproven Dominican player. David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, and Manny Ramirez highlight the list of successful Red Sox from the Dominican Republic. After a couple years of development in multiple leagues, including the Red Sox minor league system, Bello debuted for Boston last year. It wasn’t pretty, as he posted a 4.71 ERA in 13 game appearances. This season, he’s done nothing but improve every start.
In 2023, Bello has a 3.27 ERA in 12 starts. In his last four, he’s 2-1, with a 2.36 ERA. Bello last pitched against the White Sox where he featured a new pitch, a cutter. His ability to adjust and identify his weaknesses has been remarkable. He felt that his slider wasn’t generating as many outs, so the cutter was a helpful addition.
While the Red Sox have seen ups and downs from their pitching staff all year long, it seems that Bello is the bright spot that will shine for many years with Boston. It seems they may have developed themselves an ace. He’s even being compared to Pedro Martinez.
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