Red Sox Pitching Prospect Hector Velazquez Looked Tired Saturday Night
Red Sox pitcher Hector Velazquez struggled tonight as he only went 4 innings in the Paw Sox 5-4 loss. His final pitching line tonight was 4 innings, giving up 7 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts on 92 pitches (51 strikes).
His number one problem tonight was that he was pitching middle, middle. For a pitcher like Velazquez, he cant do that. He needs to be able to hit his spots and stay out of the middle of the plate. No pitcher that is throwing his fastball at 91 consistently will be able to succeed when pitching middle, middle of the plate.
This has been a consistent thing for Velazquez in his last few starts. In his start on July 29 against the Indianapolis Indians, he gave up 5 runs, on 8 hits, in 5 innings. It could be due to his consistent pitching over the last year plus. He might need the off-season.
Analyzing Velazquez Tonight
Hector Velazquez did exactly what a pitcher like himself shouldn’t do in a game tonight. He was pitching middle middle to a lot of batters. In the 1st inning, he gave up 3 hits. All 3 hits were in the middle of the plate. For a pitcher like Velasquez he, he needs to be hitting his spots and working the corners of the plate. Paw Sox manager Kevin Boles has said this on a consistent basis this season, he can throw it in the middle of the plate.
Velazquez was also off with his command. Pitches were not going where he wanted them to go. That is an indication that he is tired. He has pitched a lot over the last year or so between professional baseball and Mexico. If this continues, Velazquez might not be a viable option for the Red Sox come September.
One theory to why Velazquez struggled tonight might be because he is simply tired. When he signed with the Red Sox on February 18th, he was coming off of winter ball in Mexico. He has been pitching non stop for a long time. In the last three starts for Velazquez, he has struggled. In 14 innings, he has given up 10 runs (9 earned), 17 hits, 6 walks, and 17 strikeouts. His last 3 starts raised his ERA to 2.25 from 1.58.
The last time we saw Velazquez have a start where he was throwing it in the middle of the plate, it was his major league debut on May 18th against the Oakland Athletics. In that game, he went 5 innings, giving up 9 hits, 6 runs, 3 home runs, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts on 101 pitches (68 strikes).
