Second half fantasy baseball help from Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians

Jun 29, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello (66) pitches against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox

Pardon me while I take this opportunity to double dip on my Red Sox. As stated before, Boston’s pitching has finally caught up with their hitting and James Paxton isn’t the only surprise stud in the rotation. Second-year pitcher Brayan Bello is quite possibly the most pleasant surprise for Red Sox fans. Bello’s 6-5 record may not exactly be as intoxicating as a Taylor Swift show at Gillette Stadium, but closer views reveal why some of those hardcore crazy Red Sox fans are getting feels of a young Pedro Martinez.

Along with his win-loss line, the 24-year-old Dominican righty holds a 3.04 ERA, second only to James Paxton amongst Red Sox starters. Bello’s WHIP of 1.19 is .57 points better than that of his rookie season and his WAR is up an impressive 2.1 points from 2022.

Much like teammate Paxton, Bello has been a comforting picture of consistency all season. After a tough start to his season where he gave up five earned runs in just 2.2 innings to the Angels and followed that up with a 4.2-inning outing in Milwaukee surrendering three earned runs, Bello has been solid. In the 12 games since Milwaukee, Bello has only given up more than two earned runs once: a three-earned run outing against the top team in the American League, Tampa Bay. Along with not allowing the other team to score, Bello has been stepping up his endurance lasting seven innings in five of his last eight starts with 6.0 and 6.2 inning outings sprinkled in. Much like Paxton, Bello had a very productive June posting a 2.14 ERA. Since the aforementioned game against the Rays, Bello has lowered that ERA by 0.93.

The topper for Bello heading into the All-Star break and a performance that had Red Sox fans jumping out of their Vineyard Vines in total glee was the 7.0-inning, eight-hit, two-earned run, three-strikeout, zero-walk shift against the explosive Rangers. This kid or “ked,” as they say in Southie, also leads Boston in Quality Starts (eight) and is truly pitching with no fear. Not only did he beat the Rangers, but he also notched a W against the Braves in Atlanta, surrendering just two runs in six innings with five Ks. Bello’s ERA and OBA are better on the road than at Fenway, which is something to take note of as four of Boston’s next six series’ are on the road. Bello gets his chance to pick up right where he left off before the break Friday night in Chicago against the Cubs.