Getting to know Connelly Early
It is impossible to ignore, and it shouldn't be dismissed. Seemingly out of nowhere, Connelly Early has entered into the Red Sox's search for late-season solutions.
If you offer the kind of image that Early did Tuesday night in Sacramento, that's what is going to happen.
The rookie starting pitcher turned in one of the best big league debuts of anybody in franchise history during what would be a 6-0 win for the Red Sox over the A's. Early struck out 11 over five shutout innings, tying Don Aase (1977) for the most punchouts of any Sox pitcher in their debut.
"Hats off to him," Red Sox infielder Romy Gonzalez told reporters after leading off the game with a home run. "It was real cool to watch."
For those employed by the Red Sox trying to fit all the puzzle pieces together heading into the final weeks of the regular season, that may be an understatement. For them, it should have been one of the coolest things to watch.
The Red Sox have long known that a priority was securing the kind of pitching that could be counted on when it mattered the most, whether that was in September or October. It was the mission statement leading up to the trade deadline, and hadn't changed (or totally solved) leading up to Early's first big league start.
But now it appears as though the Sox may be uncovering solutions, first with the promotion of Payton Tolle and now thanks to Early, a fifth-round pick out of the University of Virginia two years ago.
It remains to be seen how each of these pitchers' existences translates to the Red Sox's life leading up to and in the middle of postseason play. But they certainly seem like interesting options, which should offer a fair amount of optimism.
Sure, the Red Sox didn't secure the services of the been there, done that arm of someone like Merrill Kelly (who has a 2.98 ERA in his seven starts with Texas). But the player they chose to hold on to instead of dealing for the veteran starter may actually represent the skill set the Red Sox were chasing at the end of July.
"He was really good," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including NESN) after the win. "Since he got here, under control, in the meetings, in the training room. He was prepared, too, which was eye-opening. He did his own homework. Went through it with the coaching staff and he executed ... You're getting to know all these kids. Last year, everybody was talking about the position players and if you look this year how many pitchers have impacted this team. That's what makes it special. Everyone was talking about the No. 1 farm system because of the three players that have contributed this year, but there's more. There's more players down there. I tip my hat to the organization and player development because they've done an outstanding job producing players and when they get here they are ready to go and they have contributed."
Cart before the horse? Maybe. But sometimes new isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just ask another Red Sox who has lived that life, reliever Steven Matz.
It was back in 2015 when a 24-year-old Matz was dropped into the Mets' starting rotation in September as a rookie, ultimately going on to make four September starts before pitching in the National League Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series.
"It was a whirlwind," Matz said. "I didn't know any better and so I felt there was a little bit of an ignorance there, just saying, 'Here I am. Here is what I've got,' pitching in the playoffs. There wasn't really any expectations on myself. It was just like, 'This is great, let's just be me.' You think of examples of (David) Price (in 2008), and Michael Wacha (in 2013). You feel like it's like this all the time and then you realize how hard it is."
For now, the Red Sox can bank on the honeymoon phase Matz and the other pitchers he mentioned experienced during their MLB introductions. It's a strategy more and more teams seemingly are accepting of these days, as is evident by the Mets leaning heavily on the trio of rookie hurlers, Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat, heading into October.
With 16 regular-season games to go, the Red Sox will be perfectly content riding this wave of newcomers. After all, after Tuesday night, it doesn't seem like a bad wave to ride.