Smokin Aces: Steven Wright’s Red Sox Production

That Ain’t Wright

Going into the 2016 MLB season, the ball club had signed LHP David Price in the offseason to a 7-year/217 million dollar deal to make him the ACE of the pitching staff. Today, the Red Sox sit 2 games up in the AL East and they have a lot to thank the “real ace” (at least the first two months) RHP Steven Wright for. The knuckleballer had another big day in Monday afternoon’s 7-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Wright threw a complete game allowing just 4 hits and 2 earned runs with 7 strikeouts, Wright is off to a fantastic first two months of the season by leading this pitching staff, while the offense has carried this “struggling” rotation for at least the start of this season. With three complete games now on the season, Wright is now in great company with some of the best pitchers the MLB has to offer. He is one of four pitchers in Major League Baseball to have at least 3 CG’s in this young season along with stars such as Johnny Cueto, Chris Sale, and Clayton Kershaw.

Monday afternoon was probably his most impressive start of the season, as his knuckleball looked like it was at its Senior Prom and continuously gave Orioles hitters and Red Sox catcher Ryan Hanigan significant problems throughout the 9 innings. “I thought today he had probably the best touch with changing speeds,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “He threw the slow knuckleball several times to really keep people off stride. We could talk all day about him. An outstanding performance on his part.”

Wright threw a career-high 122 pitches, as the knuckleballer was determined to give the Red Sox bullpen a nice days rest as they have been busy the past two days with extra-inning affairs in Toronto. “Tired, maybe, but not so much sore,” Wright said after lowering his ERA to 2.45. “I definitely felt a little tired out there in the ninth. It’s just one of those things, the double play helped me out a lot. It gave me an opportunity to face one more hitter. If he gets on, I’m out. Thank God he didn’t, because I don’t think I could’ve gone one more.”

Wright is now 5-4 with a team-best 2.45 ERA and leads the team in innings (69.2), did I mention that he is also holding opposing hitters to an astonishing .200 BA? The 31-year old University of Hawaii product has been compared to knuckleball greats such as Toronto Blue Jays RHP R.A Dickey and former Boston Red Sox standout RHP Tim Wakefield. Both pitchers are former MLB All-stars, which raises great question if Wright can make it to the Summer Classic come July.

Comeback Kid

Wright hasn’t always achieved this kind of success he has had in the first two months of this season, the knuckleballer hasn’t even had a full season as a starter in the MLB yet. Last season he only threw 72.2 innings which was a career high, went 5-4 with a high ERA of 4.09.

Prior to the 2015 season, Wright bounced around from the minors to the majors in 2013-14 making his MLB debut April 23, 2013. Prior to that Wright moved from minor league team to team for 6-7 years after being selected in the 2nd round by the Cleveland Indians in the 2006 MLB Draft. Wright was a struggling minor league pitcher because his lack of velocity on his fastball, in 2011 he developed a knuckleball where he made the transition to a knuckleball pitcher.

During the MLB Trade Deadline in 2012, Wright was dealt from the Cleveland Indians to the Boston Red Sox and never looked back. Today, calling him the ace of this pitching staff might be a stretch to say the least, with pitchers such as Price and LHP Eduardo Rodriguez who is coming off the disabled list and returning to the pitching staff Tuesday night. But the way Wright has pitched early this season is nothing short of remarkable, and if he continues to grind out innings to help this bullpen get some much-needed rest I could easily see him continue to be the backbone of the back of the rotation moving forward.

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