Red Sox SP: Nick Pivetta
Nick Pivetta has already turned into more than I think Chaim Bloom or anyone else expected. He was half of the return from Boston’s fleecing of the Phillies back in 2020 and has since locked in his spot in the starting rotation. Last year could definitely be considered a breakout for Pivetta but with a new role in the pitching staff in 2022, this season was to be his real-time to show what he’s capable of.
You know me and you know how much I love me some Captain Canada, but I’ll be honest and admit that he hasn’t made it very easy on us lately. He’s earned more than enough goodwill thanks to his Postseason heroics in 2021 that I’ll give him his time but I need to start seeing some consistency from him. His first three starts this campaign were atrocious and saw him give up 13 earned on 16 hits in just 11 2/3 innings of work. Not good.
However, in his most recent outing which came in this last series against the Blue Jays, it looked as if Pivetta found something. He’s spoken at length that something is off with his mechanics and he and the coaches have been watching tape to try and diagnose the issue.
Nicky P was able to hold the Jays to just two runs on three hits while striking out six and walking four. Considering what we’ve seen from him I’ll gladly take that kind of start from him again this weekend.
The biggest thing holding him back right now is the free passes. He currently leads the AL in walks with 13 which also factors into his AL-leading 15 earned runs. Want to stop the other team from adding tallies to the scoreboard? Don’t give up walks.
They’ve come back to bite him more often than not so far in 2022 and stopping the bleeding early in the season can lead to one hell of a year. We know what he can do and so do the Red Sox, it just a matter of getting him back into that mode.