Kyle Barraclough proving to be solid starting pitching depth in Worcester
For the second straight season, the starting pitching depth has really come to light for the Red Sox. With plenty of injuries and a couple of guys having moved to the bullpen, we have quickly seen the Red Sox turn to arms we did not think we would see with the big club this year. That reason is exactly why Chaim Bloom went out and signed veteran Kyle Barraclough to a minor league contract.
Barraclough has spent 7 seasons pitching in the MLB, so the experience is there. In those 7 seasons, he made all 288 appearances out of relief. Starting is fairly new for the right-hander, but the results have been surprisingly successful.
Through two starts with Worcester, Barraclough has only given up 4 hits in 11 innings pitched. He has only allowed 2 earned runs, which is why he carries a 1.64 ERA. He has given up 6 walks in his two starts, but he has limited the damage after surrendering the walks. Manager Chad Tracy noted that he felt the walks were more pitching around guys and were very spaced out during the game. It isn’t too surprising to see the high walk numbers, as Barraclough carried a 5.5 BB/9 in his MLB career.
The biggest downside to the righties game right now is his strikeout numbers after two starts. Barraclough has only 4 strikeouts through 11 innings. For a guy who carried a 11.4 K/9 in his MLB career, it is a bit puzzling to see. It could be down at the moment due to transitioning to starting as he needs to go longer in games. The strikeout numbers will be something to monitor over his next few starts.
“He was awesome.” Chad Tracy said after his first start. “He’s a veteran guy so it was cool to see him poised and he is going to help us a lot this year.”
Barraclough can give the Red Sox a much needed spot start down the stretch. We saw a similar route taken earlier in the year when the team called up Matt Dermody for one start.
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