How New Pitches Might Take Brayan Bello To Next Level

Brayan Bello has established himself as a major league rotation option, but he’s looking to take his game to the next level. Last season, he made 29 appearances and registered a 3.55 ERA.

The ERA was the lowest of Bello’s four-year career. At the same time, so was his K-BB%, which is an excellent indicator of future performance. Among pitchers with at least 150 innings pitched, Bello’s K-BB% of 9.3% ranked 65th of 70. While Bello’s game isn’t reliant on strikeouts, having the ball in play as often as he does might not be able to sustain an ERA in the threes.

This offseason, he’s reportedly working on making changes to his arsenal. He threw live batting practice on Thursday and featured a curveball in his arsenal for the first time since 2022. Bello also mentioned working with Ranger Suarez on a new changeup grip.

For Bello to improve, his performance against left-handed hitters is paramount. Last season, he struck out just 16.3% of lefties while walking 10%. He was able to use his sinker and cutter against lefties for strikes, but each pitch allowed quality contact frequently. With two strikes, he turned to his four-seam, changeup and sweeper, but none of the three were effective at putting hitters away.

The changeup is a particularly important pitch in two-strike counts. In 2024, Bello was able to use the pitch more effectively, registering a putaway rate about six percent higher than his 2025 mark, and a strike rate 10% greater. The pitch has slowly seen its velocity creep up from 86 mph to about 89 mph over the past three seasons, providing less velocity separation from his fastball. If Bello can use a new grip or release to return the pitch to its previous shape, his strikeouts against lefties should increase.

On top of the strikeouts, decreasing his walk rate against lefties is important. Adding a curveball, depending on the shape, could provide a platoon-neutral pitch for him to throw in the zone. Edward Cabrera is another righty with a similar arm slot who features a curveball and is able to throw it both in the zone for called strikes and in the dirt for whiffs. While Bello’s version of the pitch might look different, Cabrera is a pitcher with a similar arsenal who could provide a blueprint.

Bello’s sinker is good enough to cover for many of his mistakes. With its combination of velocity and movement, opponents have a very difficult time squaring the pitch up, allowing him to use it to get out of jams. Still, he’ll need to throw more strikes with his other pitches and find a putaway pitch to ascend to the next level. If he can develop a quality changeup and curveball, the sky is the limit for the righty.