Xander Bogaerts was already impressed with Boston Red Sox top pitching prospect Brayan Bello well before the right-handed pitcher notched his first career win in the big leagues Sunday.
Bogaerts saw something special in Bello just prior to him making his major league debut this season on July 6.
For Bogaerts, he saw the 23-year-old exude confidence that was well beyond his years.
“He was in the clubhouse, and his first start with that white bandana thing he had going on on his head. It was looking good, but the way he was in here, man, it was like, ‘Woah. Alright, this guy has 20 starts up here already,'” Bogaerts told reporters following Boston’s 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “I don’t know man, there’s something different about him and I’m honest about that. First time I saw him, I haven’t seen guys make their debut pitching-wise and being that confident.”
Bello certainly looked confident strutting around the mound following strikeouts as he attacked the Rangers and kept them at-bay over six shutout innings — the longest outing of his young big-league career. Bello allowed only three hits while fanning five batters and only issuing one walk.
It’s the third straight start from Bello in which he yielded less than three earned runs, as he’s starting to harness his incredible arsenal of pitches that has more than just Bogaerts singing his praises.
“It was awesome, man,” Trevor Story told NESN’s Jahmai Webster of Bello’s performance, as seen on the network’s postgame coverage. “(He has) good, electric stuff. … He’s working fast and he’s getting a lot of ground balls. The changeup is nasty. He’s fun to play behind.”
