Remember Johan Oviedo? He’s not so much the forgotten man of the Red Sox pitching staff (that’s very much Tanner Houck) he’s more like the guy we never even got to meet in the first place. But, like Houck, he is working his way back and hopes to contribute the big league team at some point. He’ll make a minor league rehab appearance on Thursday. He’s ahead of Garrett Crochet in the rehab race, but Chad Tracy is still being non-committal about what role, if any, he may play this year. “Accumulating volume, getting his feet wet back out there will be important, and then we’ll go from there,” Tracy said. “But upbeat probably. It’s a long journey for some of [these injured pitchers]. So when they finally get to get back onto a mound, it’s exciting — on a mound in a real game.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
Ranger Suarez had a much shorter and much less intense stint on the injured list, but it still took him a wile to work his way back into form when he returned to the mound. After back-to-back gems, he finally looks like his old self, to which he credits a mechanical tweak. “Before, I was leaning forward, so I wasn’t able to locate my sinker,” Suarez said. “Today, my sinker was on point, so that was a pitch that was working for me. I was able to establish that pitch to open my secondaries.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
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As for Crochet, he threw another bullpen on Friday and got his velocity up to around 93.5 MPH. “Looked good,” Chad Tracy said. “Added in some sweepers, which was good. I think last time he added in cutters. He added some sweepers, so he keeps adding pitch types, and looked good. Just briefly checked in with him, and he said he felt good, which is good news.” (Scott McGlauglin, WEEI)
The fact that the pitching staff has been able to withstand so many injuries is a testament to the depth compiled by Craig Breslow, and the performance of guys like Peyton Tolle in particular. Tolle is arguably the best Red Sox rookie starter in several decades. “Just considering [it’s his] first full season, and the evolution of his stuff and how he uses it, being able to take on more innings and still looks very strong while he’s doing it, [the] strikeout numbers, the ERA. He’s been just a steady force as a rookie pitcher in the rotation,” said Chad Tracy. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
If Tolle keeps it up, he may one day find himself the recipient of baseball’s highest honor. No, I’m not talking about induction to the hall of fame, I’m talking about having a street in suburban Utah named after him in this random development that was obviously planned by a Red Sox fan:
