The mixed bag of Nick Pivetta
What a steal Nick Pivetta has been for the Red Sox. Pivetta has been occasionally rocked this season, but the overall performance has been one of stability for a desperately needed rotation. Pivetta will give mixed results, and the idea is for the positive to outweigh the negative.
Pivetta has a nice three-pitch assortment, is not petrified to toss a strike, and is a fast worker. Pivetta’s fastball is classified as “heavy,” a somewhat oblique term in baseball to describe a heater that pitches significantly greater than its speed may indicate.
Pivetta is under team control through 2025 and stands to make a bundle of money in arbitration if he continues on a promising path. Much less if he has games like that against the Yankees on 7/16. So dipping again into the past, just what Red Sox righty does Pivetta reminds me of?
John Lackey had a similar three-pitch fastball, curve, and slider assortment. The same described “heavy” fastball and a physical resemblance to Pivetta. Lackey had the same gritty style and pitched almost an entire season with a blown-out arm. Lackey would also pitch dynamic games and games in which Stevie Wonder could get two hits.