The Red Sox will call on a fresh face to join their starting rotation tomorrow against the Oakland A?s.
Hector Velazquez, the 28-year-old right-hander who was signed in the spring after pitching seven professional seasons in Mexico, will join the Sox from Triple-A Pawtucket to make his major league debut. Since he?s not on the 40-man roster, the Sox will have to clear space for him, but that shouldn?t be a problem since Steven Wright, who had season-ending surgery, can be moved to the 60-day disabled list to make room.
Velazquez has been dominating with the PawSox, holding a 1.55 ERA with 20 strikeouts to five walks in 29 innings this season.
Sox manager John Farrell said he?s been impressed by his command.
?That?s what it?s all about,? Farrell said. ?It?s not about sheer velocity. It?s about pitching ahead in the count. I like the fact that late in camp he started to come up with a little more of an off-speed curveball to help spread the strike zone top to bottom. This is a guy who has a lot of experience, albeit not at the major league level, but still there?s a lot of savvy and strike throwing ability here.?
Velazquez threw a whopping 246 innings in Mexico last season, so the Sox were careful with him since he joined the club in spring training. He?s yet to throw 100 pitches in a Triple-A start, but Farrell said there would be no hard cap on his pitch count tomorrow.
Velazquez will be the eighth starter used this season as Wright got hurt and Brian Johnson and Kyle Kendrick were underwhelming in spot starts.
?While Brian Johnson has thrown the ball well (in Triple A) as well,? said Farrell, ?just felt like with the number of left-handers in our rotation currently, another right-hander would give us another different look.?
Hector Velazquez, the 28-year-old right-hander who was signed in the spring after pitching seven professional seasons in Mexico, will join the Sox from Triple-A Pawtucket to make his major league debut. Since he?s not on the 40-man roster, the Sox will have to clear space for him, but that shouldn?t be a problem since Steven Wright, who had season-ending surgery, can be moved to the 60-day disabled list to make room.
Velazquez has been dominating with the PawSox, holding a 1.55 ERA with 20 strikeouts to five walks in 29 innings this season.
Sox manager John Farrell said he?s been impressed by his command.
?That?s what it?s all about,? Farrell said. ?It?s not about sheer velocity. It?s about pitching ahead in the count. I like the fact that late in camp he started to come up with a little more of an off-speed curveball to help spread the strike zone top to bottom. This is a guy who has a lot of experience, albeit not at the major league level, but still there?s a lot of savvy and strike throwing ability here.?
Velazquez threw a whopping 246 innings in Mexico last season, so the Sox were careful with him since he joined the club in spring training. He?s yet to throw 100 pitches in a Triple-A start, but Farrell said there would be no hard cap on his pitch count tomorrow.
Velazquez will be the eighth starter used this season as Wright got hurt and Brian Johnson and Kyle Kendrick were underwhelming in spot starts.
?While Brian Johnson has thrown the ball well (in Triple A) as well,? said Farrell, ?just felt like with the number of left-handers in our rotation currently, another right-hander would give us another different look.?
