Steven Wright: A breakout season for the knuckleballer, Wright became a crowd favorite after having a red hot first half of the season. The first half was so good that it prompted an All-Star Game appearance, having a mid-2.00 ERA for most of the season. A few bad starts in July and August brought him down to earth a little bit, but he showed to be arguably one of the best and most reliable pitchers in the starting rotation that was wearing a Red Sox uniform. At the age of 32, he’s not expected to put up the numbers of his younger counterparts, but he has the capability of being one of the better bottom half of the rotation pitchers in baseball.
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My Take: The fall off from Wrights breakout season will not show much in the stat line. He showed his vulnerability in the second half, which luckily did not hurt the playoff chances but instead made him an uneasy option in the playoffs. He’ll hover around that .500 mark in his W/L percentage, and the ERA will be average but at the same time he will have those games where he makes teams look embarrassing against the knuckleball. It’s a stretch to say he will put up his blazing All Star worthy first half, but him doing that would add to his storybook tale on his journey to the Major League and also prove why I shouldn’t be paid to do this. If there’s anyone who is unpredictable in this rotation, Steven Wright might be it.
My Prediction: 12-11 4.00 ERA, maybe around 150.0 innings if he is lucky, and about 110 strikeouts.