Red Sox Midseason Report Card: Garrett Crochet passes with flying colors

The All-Star break is here and the Red Sox are rolling Heading into the break riding a -game win streak the Red Sox are in the present - and if the season ended in current times would be matched up against the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card series at Yankee Stadium Time to hand out selected midseason grades The present day we ll start with pitchers and the following day we ll take a look at position players Related Articles MLB Draft Red Sox load up on pitching select college arms MLB Draft Red Sox select RHP Kyson Witherspoon with No pick Red Sox sweep Rays enter All-Star break riding -game win streak Red Sox manager on bloated All-Star rosters There s too a multitude of All-Stars Coming off lost year Red Sox starter finishing first half on a high note Garrett Crochet A Outstanding Crochet was brought in to be the ace of this staff and he s delivered in every conceivable way The left-hander leads MLB in innings pitched and strikeouts while also ranking second in ERA If he keeps it up in the second half he will be a top contender for the AL Cy Young Award Brayan Bello B Bello missed the first three weeks due to injury and had a rocky stretch where he couldn t get through five innings but since the start of June he s been lights out Bello has posted seven quality starts in his last eight outings the exception being when he started the rain-suspended meeting against the Reds technically a relief appearance and allowed one run over five innings He is now - with a ERA and innings on the season Lucas Giolito B Giolito s season has had a similar trajectory as Bello After missing all of due to injury the veteran suffered another setback in spring training and missed the first month Upon his return he careened between good and bad outings but since June has been outstanding Over his last six starts he s allowed three runs over innings and for the season he is now - with a ERA and innings pitched Walker Buehler F It s not a great sign when a pitcher begins openly contemplating whether they still have a place in MLB following a start Buehler has had a couple of strong outings but overall the two-time All-Star has badly struggled His - wins above replacement and ERA both rank among the worst in baseball for starting pitchers with at least innings pitched Tanner Houck F This has been a nightmarish year for Houck who has twice allowed runs in less than two innings and has now missed the last two months due to injury Richard Fitts C Fitts has bounced back and forth between the majors Triple-A and the injured list but generally the rookie has provided the Red Sox with needed rotation depth Fitts has a ERA in eight starts and the greater part in recent weeks allowed two earned runs in innings against Colorado last week Hunter Dobbins B- Dobbins vastly exceeded expectations stepping up after the Red Sox rotation was wracked with injuries early to deliver various great performances The rookie went - with a ERA in outings starts but will now miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL Aroldis Chapman A Even at years old Chapman remains one of the hardest throwers in baseball and is enjoying one of the best years of his career He will represent the Red Sox in Tuesday s All-Star Encounter after posting a ERA with strikeouts in innings over appearances while recording saves Justin Slaten B- When healthy Slaten has been effective as Boston s primary eighth-inning setup man posting a ERA in appearances But Slaten hasn t pitched since late May due to right shoulder inflammation and will wind up missing at least two months Jordan Hicks Incomplete One of the players acquired in the Rafael Devers exchange Hicks has so far only appeared in four games for the Red Sox He is expected to take on a larger and more vital role as the season goes on Garrett Whitlock A Coming off a lost year to injury Whitlock s return to the bullpen has been a rousing success Whitlock leads all Red Sox relievers with innings pitched in games and has posted a ERA with strikeouts Greg Weissert B Weissert has taken on a huge workload ranking tied for third in MLB with appearances through the first half He s largely performed well posting a ERA in innings Brennan Bernardino B Like Weissert the Red Sox have leaned hard on Bernardino this season The left-hander has buckled under that weight at times but for the majority part has been reliable posting a ERA in innings over outings Justin Wilson B The -year-old lefty has been a monster against left-handed batters this season holding lefties to a batting average and OPS Overall he s posted a ERA in innings over appearances Jorge Alcala A- Acquired from Minnesota in a mid-June contract Alcala has been lights out through his first month with the club So far the right-hander has allowed one earned run over innings through his first appearances though those have mostly come in lower leverage situations Expect him to see him in bigger spots if he continues to pitch at this level in the second half Chris Murphy Incomplete Murphy was just in recent times activated after missing almost two years due to Tommy John surgery The left-hander has gotten off to a promising start through his first five outings he has yet to allow an earned run in innings Liam Hendriks F It s been a tough year for the three-time All-Star who has spent the majority of the season on the injured list and posted a ERA in innings over games when proceeding Zack Kelly C- Kelly has battled inconsistency posting a ERA in innings at the big league level He has also spent time at Triple-A and is right now on the IL with a right oblique strain Luis Guerrero C- Guerrero has spent the greater part of the season at Triple-A and during his stints in the majors has consistently struggled with his command He has a ERA in MLB appearances but has also walked batters in innings