Brayan Bello ($7,700; 38.2 FPTS) signed with the Boston Red Sox as an international free agent in 2017. He spent four seasons in the minors before making it to the majors. During his minor league career, he posted K/9s in the 12 range and did an excellent job limiting the long ball, as the HR/9 never exceeded 0.9.
When he finally got the call with the big club, Bello was great, throwing 57.1 innings and notching a K/9 of 8.63, HR/9 of 0.16 and a FIP of 2.94. Like with most young pitchers, control was an issue, as the BB/9 was 4.24, but he averaged 97 mph on the fastball.
Last season, the fastball velocity dropped to 95.7 mph on average and the K/9 plummeted to 7.57 in 157 innings. The FIP was 4.54 and the HR/9 was at 1.38. At least the walk rate came down to 2.58 BB/9.
This season, most of the numbers look the same, as the FIP is 4.56 and the fastball is averaging 95.9 mph. The K/9 has ticked back up to 8.51 but the BB/9 has also gone up to 3.56.
Is this who Bello is?
Well, he’s still only 25 years old and the season has been fraught with inconsistency. He’s allowed at least five earned runs in five starts while throwing a quality start in nine. In his most recent outing, he got tagged for five earned runs while striking out only two.
On Wednesday at home against the Blue Jays, he put it all together and displayed the upside that many have envisioned. Bello went eight innings, struck out nine, walked one and did not allow an earned run on two hits. He threw 97 pitches.
His counterpart, Chris Bassitt ($8,000; 26.8 FPTS) was up to the task, striking out nine in 6.2 innings while walking one and allowing only one earned run on five hits. That lone run came in the first inning on a Wilyer Abreu ($4,200; 5 FPTS) RBI single.
To put the game in the refrigerator, Tyler O’Neill ($5,100; 16 FPTS) hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning.
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