It really has become routine at this point for Brayan Bello, the Boston Red Sox’s top pitching prospect.
Bello delivered another terrific start on the mound for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, improving to 5-2 with the WooSox after tossing 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball against the Charlotte Knights. The 23-year-old scattered five hits while walking three and punching out seven in a 3-2 win for Worcester.
Striking out batters at an accelerated rate is nothing new for Bello. In eight starts in Triple-A this season, Bello has fanned at least six batters in each outing, including back-to-back games of 10 strikeouts at the beginning of his WooSox tenure.
In his time split between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester this year, Bello has struck out 106 batters over 79 2/3 innings of work. The Dominican Republic native owns a 9-4 record in the minors this season to go along with a 2.49 ERA and a spectacular .186 batting average against.
Bello has also displayed his impressive arsenal of pitches against big leaguers rehabbing at the Triple-A level. He struck out Eloy Jimenez earlier this week, and the Chicago White Sox star didn’t record a hit off of Bello on Sunday, either.
While the Red Sox have used prospect Josh Winckowski to fill a spot in the rotation with Garrett Whitlock and Nathan Eovaldi both on the injured list, the big-league club elected to call up another member of the WooSox’s pitching staff instead of Bello for a spot start Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Red Sox most likely want their prized prospect to get more seasoned, but Bello clearly could be on his way to Boston in the near future if he keeps dominating at Triple-A.
