Boston Red Sox starting pitching prospect Brian Van Belle
Brian Van Belle was phenomenal in Double-A for the first half of the season. His fantastic numbers led to a promotion to Triple-A. There, Van Belle struggled for the most part.
However, there were some positives. Van Belle managed to put together some great outings in 13 appearances for Worcester. And while his walks did go up at the level, it wasn't nearly the spike that we've seen with other pitchers recently. For the most part, Van Belle didn't let the walks kill him.
BVB posted a 4.46 ERA, .260 BAA, and 1.35 WHIP in 27 appearances (25 starts) between Double-A and Triple-A. The right-handed pitcher struck out 134 batters compared to 50 walks in 141 1/3 innings.
Van Belle came into the Red Sox organization as an undrafted free agent in 2020. In 2021, he started his career by putting up a solid season in High-A.
That right there started my campaign for the University of Miami product. In his three seasons in the minor leagues, BVB has never put up eye-popping numbers. However, he's always been a consistent arm in the rotation. Simply put, if you need 5-plus innings, you want Van Belle out there.
The fact that he took a step forward in 2023 only makes his case stronger. Van Belle overpowered in Double-A. Now, with over 60 innings in Triple-A, BVB could leap to the Majors at any time.
Could another team see Brian Van Belle as a potential back-end of the rotation guy? He seems like a great arm for a team with serious pitching problems. Have him as your five who will eat innings and twirl some gems on occasion. Could he improve from there as time goes on? We saw BVB take steps forward after getting acclimated to each level so far. So, if it's a team that can afford to be patient with him, it could pay off.