The Boston Red Sox have one of the best rotations in baseball, leading MLB in team ERA with pitchers like Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford excelling at preventing home runs. They are achieving this success by throwing fewer fastballs, in line with a league-wide trend of decreased fastball usage.

By the Numbers
  • Boston Red Sox lead MLB in team ERA after six weeks into the season.
  • Fastball usage is down across MLB, with Boston throwing fastballs only 31.9% of the time.
  • Jarren Duran leads baseball with six triples this season, on pace for a potentially historic season with 27 triples.
  • In the Yelich trade, the Marlins received Lewis Brinson, Isan Díaz, Monte Harrison, and Jordan Yamamoto.
Yes, But

Despite the initial optimism surrounding the Yelich trade, the outcome has led to underwhelming careers for the players acquired by the Marlins.

State of Play
  • Boston Red Sox pitchers Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are standing out for their performance in preventing home runs and maintaining low ERAs.
  • League-wide, there is a decreasing trend in fastball usage, with the Red Sox leading in low fastball percentages.
  • Jarren Duran's impressive pace in recording triples this season puts him on track to potentially break modern-day records.
What's Next

It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox's alternative pitching strategy yields continued success and if Jarren Duran can maintain his historic triple pace throughout the season.

Bottom Line

The Boston Red Sox are defying traditional pitching norms by reducing fastball usage, while Jarren Duran's pursuit of a triples record adds an exciting element to this MLB season.