Red Sox SP Clay Buchholz
Red Sox P Clay Buchholz is finally starting to live up to the hype that comes with being a former top prospect in the Red Sox system. Following last nights 6-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Buchholz is currently 9-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 13 starts. 8 of those games have been Quality Starts (6 IP and 3 ER or less) and he also has a complete game shut out vs. the Baltimore Orioles.
Buchholz has stepped up in a major way with Sox ace Josh Beckett on the disabled list. Granted, while his last few starts haven’t exactly been against the juggernauts of Major League Baseball, (Arizona, Cleveland, Baltimore, Kansas City), he does hold victories over 5 American League teams with winning records – Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Detroit, the L.A. Angels, and Toronto.
His only horrible start of the year was against the New York Yankees, in which he allowed 5 earned runs in just 5 innings. How many pitchers are able to squash that lineup? Not many. Even Phillies ace and perennial Cy Young candidate Roy Halladay was whacked by the Bombers, giving up 4 homeruns yesterday at the House that Jeter Built. Besides that one bad performance, one could make the argument Buchholz has been the Red Sox’ most consistent starter thus far.
He has shown composure that has not seen from him since his no-hitter back in 2007, as he has the lowest strikeout to walk ratio of his career (1.71). His control has improved dramatically, and he has used that control to pitch to contact and rely on the improved infield defense of Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro to get more groundouts. He is becoming more of a pitcher than just a thrower who is just trying to blow every hitter away.
Buchholz is a fantastic value for the Red Sox as he is currently making less than $500,000 this year, and is able to offset questionable contracts such as those of Mike Cameron and Daisuke Matsuzaka. While he has been the subject of trade rumors ever since he made his major league debut back in 2007, with the injuries to Beckett and Matsuzaka they need him more than ever.
However, one could also say that his trade value may never be higher, given his performance and contract. While this may be true, for the moment the Red Sox offense looks pretty decent. This lineup, which before the year looked questionable on paper, has been a nice surprise thanks to Beltre’s offensive output, as well as key contributions from the likes of Darnell McDonald, Jeremy Hermida, and Daniel Nava in the absence of Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury. Buchholz’ next start will be at home Sunday against Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which should be wildly entertaining no matter how you slice it.
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