Red Sox's Starting Rotation Off To Historic Start Despite Negative Speculation

Boston's rotation certainly has surprised some people to kick off the 2024 season

Mar 28, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Boston Red Sox starter Brayan Bello (66) delivers a pitch / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox's starting rotation certainly has surprised some people to kick off the 2024 campaign.

Boston's rotation was its Achilles heel in 2023 and it doesn't look much different now. The Red Sox attempted to make some additions and ended up signing Lucas Giolito, but he will miss the entire 2024 campaign.

The Red Sox's rotation currently is Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck. Boston is just four games into the 2024 season, but the rotation certainly has done its part so far.

Bello, Pivetta, Crawford, and Whitlock all pitched in the club's four-game series against the Seattle Mariners and combined to allow just four earned runs in 22 innings pitched. None of the four allowed more than two earned runs in a start and each hurler pitched at least five innings.

Four games is a small sample size, but it's a positive sign. Boston's rotation has been so successful to the point that the 1.64 staff ERA is the third lowest by a Red Sox club in the first four games of a season since 1995, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.

"In the Opening Series, the Red Sox not only quelled some fears but joined some rare company in the process," Browne said. "Over the four games in Seattle, Red Sox starters registered a 1.64 ERA. In the Wild Card era (which started in 1995), the only Boston team to do better in the first four games occurred in 2018 (0.75) and 1999 (1.09). The 0.68 WHIP is the best opening four-game stretch since at least 1906."

Boston was linked to a handful of hurlers in free agency -- with the most notable being Jordan Montgomery -- but opted to roll with internal options instead. So far this season, that seems like the right choice.

There is plenty of baseball left to be played but if the Red Sox's rotation continues to have this level of success they could end up surprising some people.

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