Don't sleep on Josh Winckowski
The right hander has spent time between AAA and MLB this year, but 2023 will be the chance for Winckowski to stick in the majors.
The Boston Red Sox have a plethora of young pitching that are right on the cusp of the majors and sticking full time. Among those pitchers is Josh Winckowski, who came over from the Kansas City Royals in the Andrew Benintendi trade. Through his first season making starts for the big league club, we have seen some ups and downs out of Winckowski. The big questions is, what will 2023 hold?
Winckowski is still just 24 years old, which is two years younger than two fellow pitchers, Kutter Crawford & Connor Seabold, that find themselves in the same position as Winckowski. The numbers in AAA have been good, and the numbers in the MLB haven’t been the greatest. However, the young right hander has shown he can stick around.
The 5.75 ERA this season will need to be down significantly in the 2023 season, and the signs point to just that. The post July stats has seen his ERA go up significantly, but the quality of opponents should not be pushed aside:
The major takeaway out of this graphic is being consistent. After the 7/26 start against the Guardians, Winckowski rebounded and strung together three straight solid starts. If he can limit the damage in those bad starts, next season will look very different. Sure, there a few starts that didn’t go so hot, but given the fact he has made a majority of his worst starts against the AL East, (who have absolutely destroyed all Red Sox pitching this season), there is room for a positive outlook going into the next season.
With Nick Pivetta the only returning starter currently under contract in Boston, there is no reason Josh Winckowski will be left out of the opening day rotation. Say what you want about him after his bad starts, but nobody can say he hasn’t given the Red Sox a chance to win more games this year than the other young guys chasing a rotation spot.
The 2023 season should be a prime chance for Josh Winckowski to show he can snag one of those open starting rotation spots and run with it. Penciling him in along side Brayan Bello and possibly other young pitchers in the system looking for a spot, should have Red Sox fans excited for a very much improved rotation.
Photo via Jim Davis / Boston Globe
I would use Winckowski, Crawford and Seabold as trade bait. Especially so, if Chaim Bloom can wheedle Bednar and Reynolds from the Pirates.