Red Sox should reshuffle the pitching staff
The Red Sox pitching staff features three starters who are more than just a conventional one-inning reliever, but can’t handle a conventional starter’s workout. Veteran left-hander Rich Hill has been relatively effective in four-to-five inning starts, while promising righties Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck have bounced between the rotation and long relief roles. Yet there is a strong argument to be made that all three are not in the role where they can be the most effective.
Let’s start with Hill. The ageless wonder was pitching well before his blowup on Thursday, allowing just two runs over his previous nineteen innings. Yet his 6.9 K/9 is a career low, and many of his batted ball metrics are below average. Good teams and good right-handed hitters just aren’t fooled by his high-80s fastball and lollipop curveball, especially when they face him two or three times. What Hill is still good at is getting lefties out, holding them to a .174/.208/.264 compared to a .277/.333/.436 line against righties. Paired with an ability to throw strikes, Hill should be used in a long reliever role and in key situations against lefties.
Whitlock is about as different a pitcher as you can get from Hill, but he also is used in the wrong role. What’s interesting about Whitlock is that he began the season where he should be- in the bullpen- but was thrust into the rotation when Houck’s vaccination status reshuffled the pitching staff. Whitlock has still been effective as a starter, but not nearly as good as when he pitches out of the ‘pen (3.15 ERA to 0.90). There’s no denying that a good starter is more valuable than a good reliever, but given the strengths and weaknesses of the Red Sox pitching staff and Whitlock’s success out of the bullpen, it makes far more sense for him to return to his old role.
While Hill and Whitlock have had more defined roles this season, Houck has been all over the place, starting and relieving in four games each. His 4.70 ERA speaks to his inconsistency: 13 of his runs have come in 8 1/3 innings over three appearances, while he has allowed just three runs over his other 22 1/3 innings. His up-and-down performance could be a result of his constant switching between the rotation and the bullpen, preventing him from ever getting into a rhythm. Letting the 26-year-old figure things out in the rotation could help the Red Sox in the present and the future.