Young Red Sox Fireballer Making Team's 2023 Bullpen Decisions Much More Difficult
Who will be in the Boston Red Sox's bullpen when Opening Day rolls around?
Boston is set to begin the regular season on March 30 at Fenway Park against the Baltimore Orioles and the club certainly is going to have some tough decisions to make.
The Red Sox's bullpen was one of the worst in all of baseball in 2022 but is expected to be greatly improved in 2023. Boston added three-time All-Star Kenley Jansen along with Chris Martin, Joely Rodriguez, and Richard Bleier to the mix and still have standouts like John Schreiber and potentially Tanner Houck expected to play major roles.
One prospect who is making a case for himself to crack Boston's bullpen on Opening Day certainly is fireballer Durbin Feltman. The 25-year-old was drafted by Boston in the third round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Texas Christian University and some even speculated that he would make his MLB debut right away.
Feltman has a fastball that has touched 100 mph and a devastating slider that seemed poised to make the jump to the big leagues rather quickly. The youngster shined in Boston's farm system right away but has seen some inconsistent play ever since. He has made multiple appearances with the Red Sox in spring training over the years since being drafted, but this spring training likely was his best yet.
The 25-year-old made five appearances for Boston before being sent down to the minor leagues and compiled a 1.29 ERA across seven innings pitched. Feltman allowed just three hits and struck out eight batters over that stretch.
Although he is in the minor league camp now, Feltman is a prime candidate to get called up at some point in 2023. Boston's bullpen is sure to be better, but if the team has inconsistent play or faces injuries, Feltman may be back with the club in the not-so-distant future.
One player to watch out for certainly is veteran hurler Ryan Braiser. He is someone fans have been very vocal about and he may be on a short leash with the club. There's no way to know for sure what each player's roles are, but Feltman seems to be someone who could be with the club soon and his spring training performance is just another example why.
He may not start the season with the big league club, but 2023 may be the year we finally see Feltman at Fenway Park.
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