Brayan Bello reflects on working with Pedro Martinez and his offseason plan
As the Red Sox continue to build for the future, Brayan Bello is one of their most important players. He has ace-like potential and has shown flashes of excellence during his first two seasons in the majors. Over the last few weeks, he has been hard at work improving his game alongside Pedro Martinez.
After posting a 4.24 ERA in 28 games last year, Bello entered the offseason with a few things to work on. That included his slider, which Martinez has helped Bello improve so he can have another plus pitch in his arsenal.
“I’ve been working a lot on that pitch,” Bello told Reporters on Thursday through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “I worked with Pedro in the offseason with the same grip that I had last year. I feel more confident with that pitch. I feel I can control it in any count. Like today in live BP, I used it and I felt really good about it. So it was a good offseason for that pitch. I feel like my confidence is up on that pitch.”
The Red Sox hope that Bello can take his game to another level with an improved pitch mix. He entered last September with a 3.73 ERA but allowed 22 runs in his last 26 innings. During that stretch, opponents hit .320 against him.
As a result, Bello has focused on ensuring those results don’t repeat themselves.
“I had a few outings at the end of the year that weren’t the best,” Bello told reporters on Thursday. “So, for me, I needed to tackle that right away. I wanted to tackle that right away, being aggressive from the first day. And yeah, I was kind of disappointed the last few starts last year.”
On a pitching staff full of question marks, Bello has arguably the highest ceiling. He has shown that he has swing-and-miss stuff and the ability to work out of jams. The key for the talented 24-year-old will be consistency and pitching deep into games.
Additionally, in 14 games before the All-Star break last year, Bello posted a 3.04 ERA. He was able to keep opponents off balance with his slider, but then fatigue set in. As a result, he has entered camp stronger and taken Martinez’s advice to heart.
If the Samana, Dominican Republic native can continue to improve, a breakout campaign could be on the horizon.
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