Red Sox Strut: Catcher Christian Vazquez, LHP Drew Pomeranz

Pitcher who gets to Strut

Drew Pomeranz continues to be one of the most underrated players on this Red Sox team. Fans were furious when Dave Dombrowksi traded away the team’s top pitching prospect for Pomeranz, who underwhelmed with his performance down the stretch last season. After a few rough outings early in the season had those same critics howling for his removal from the rotation, Pomeranz has put those concerns to rest with an outstanding season.

His latest start came on Saturday, when Pomeranz limited the White Sox to a single run over 6 2/3 innings. He earned his 11th win of the season, tied for fifth in the league, while lowering his ERA to 3.36, which ranks eighth.

Pomeranz has now allowed three runs or less in 18 of his 22 starts this season. He’s given up one run or less in ten of those starts, including three of his last four.

One of the knocks against Pomeranz has been his inability to go deep into games – he’s lasted a full seven innings only once this season. In some ways this may be a blessing in disguise for a pitcher who clearly tired down the stretch last year. An overlooked explanation for his second half struggles was that Pomeranz had already surpassed his career-high workload before the Red Sox acquired him. Boston’s loaded bullpen allows them to feel comfortable letting Pomeranz average about six innings per start. At that pace they can get another dozen starts out of him while increasing his workload a reasonable 20 or so innings above last year’s career-high.

Next: Wakefield gives back to Little League

With Price’s health concerns and the regression of Rick Porcello, the re-emergence of Pomeranz has been a significant reason for this season’s success. He’s been the second best pitcher in the Red Sox rotation and the most recent example of this has earned him the right to Strut.