Boston Red Sox relief pitcher stat predictions for the 2022 season

Red Sox relief pitcher: Jake Diekman

Let’s get this out of the way, Red Sox fans: You are going to get frustrated watching Jake Diekman pitch this year. The stuff is downright nasty: He pairs a mid-90s sinker with a knee-bending slider that induced batters to whiff 47% of the time. It’s no wonder why he ranked in the top ten percentile in both whiff percentage and strikeout percentage. When he’s on, it’s hard to see how anybody makes contact against the big lefty.

The problem is that those moments are few and far between. Far too often, Diekman has little idea where his offerings are going. He’s walked over 5.0 batters per nine innings every year since 2017, making it harder to trust him in high-leverage situations. He also had a problem with the gopher ball last year, allowing a 1.5 HR/9 rate that was nearly double his career-high.

Diekman’s performance this spring has done little to inspire confidence. He has allowed seven runs and walked six over just 3 2/3 innings, leading to a gaudy 17.18 ERA. Most worrisome is that his slider’s velocity has dropped from 83 miles per hour to 78. Some of this can be attributed to the shortened spring training, but any velocity drop that significant is cause for concern.

If Diekman is able to recapture his elite stuff, however, there are few more talented arms in the Red Sox bullpen. Walks and home runs are always going to be part of his game, but anyone who can generate swings-and-misses at such a high rate can be of use to a manager.

Stat Predictions: 3.54 ERA, 5.3 BB/9, 12.7 K/9