Red Sox Pitcher Recalls Time When Now Ace Was Put In Spotlight

The Boston Red Sox have been forced to rely on their pitching pipeline down the stretch. Injuries to the pitching staff led prospects Payton Tolle and Connelly Early to make earlier-than-expected major league debuts with the team chasing the playoffs.

It’s not uncommon for teams to bring up prospects late in the season for a boost. The San Francisco Giants just called up top prospect Bryce Eldridge to help in their hunt for the National League Wild Card. A 20-year-old Rafael Devers played a prominent role for the 2017 Red Sox.

Pitchers playing a big part is less common, especially in the rotation. Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is one example of a pitcher who was brought up, but he pitched out of the bullpen to manage his innings. Lucas Giolito was a veteran on that Chicago White Sox team.

“Electric,” Giolito said on Baseball Isn’t Boring. “As far as mentally and emotionally, [Crochet] was like a deer in the headlights. He was like ‘holy crap, how did I get here so fast?'”

Neither of the Red Sox’s rookie pitchers has looked nervous or out of place, at least on the field. Tolle was dominant in his debut, pitching with swagger and confidence in front of a sold-out Fenway Park. Early pitched in a quieter environment in Sacramento, but was excellent over five frames.

Kyle Harrison has previous major league experience, but he only just turned 24 and has never pitched in the postseason. He’s working out of the bullpen and will be asked to fill innings in bulk.

The Red Sox shuffled the rotation to maximize the number of starts Brayan Bello and Giolito can make down the stretch. Still, Early is scheduled to make his first start in front of the home crowd on Tuesday, while Harrison and Tolle will figure in out of the bullpen.

The Red Sox only have 12 games remaining and are doing whatever they can to lean on their veteran pitchers. At some point, however, they’ll need the youth to provide innings to fill in the gaps on their playoff push.