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With a plethora of injuries to their rotation this year, including the likes of Chris Sale, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck, the Boston Red Sox have turned to two back-end starters to fill the void for at least another couple of weeks. Both Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford have shown glimpses of promising stuff, begging the question: Is there value to adding these two stopgap arms, and how long could that value last?
We'll take a deeper dive into both the Boston injury situation timelines and the recent results for both right-handed starters to see if fantasy managers should pay mind to these potential waiver wire adds. Down the stretch in August, a strong starting pitcher addition could be the difference between a finish in the money or going home with nothing to show for at the end of the fantasy season.
Are Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford worth adding to your fantasy team? Let's get to it!
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Nick Pivetta - SP
Pivetta entered his third full year with the Red Sox as a 30-year-old starting pitcher with loads of potential but bouts of inconsistency on his resume. He started eight times in the first month and a half, and the results were rough. The former Phillie allowed nine homers and racked up a 4.28 BB/9 rate, leading to a 4.81 xFIP in that span. To make matters worse, the typical strikeout upside was absent for Pivetta, as he sat at a 9.45 K/9 after getting knocked around by the Mariners on May 16.
After two and a half months of long-relief duty, the Red Sox have finally decided to give Pivetta another shot in the rotation. Part of that reason is the injury bug that has hit their rotation, but the fastball-heavy starter has forced their hand a bit with an elite 2.11 xFIP to go along with a 2.96 BB/9 and a 14.79 K/9 in his last six appearances out of the bullpen. That is the massive upside you might recall from 2020 when Boston traded for the up-and-coming flamethrower.
Pivetta made the most of his most recent start, avoiding any walks and racking up 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings of three-run ball in Seattle. The only blemish was the two long balls, but the body of work was more than enough to earn another start. While the Red Sox do have three starting pitchers starting out on rehab assignments, it's tough to find a reason why Pivetta will get demoted back to the 'pen, so long as he keeps missing bats and avoids walking the yard.
For fantasy managers who need strikeouts in whichever format you may play, this could be an elite pickup for the rest of the season. Pivetta has found something of late, and we know this to be a pitcher with a strikeout pedigree to begin with. If I'm the Red Sox, I want to see what I have in Pivetta more so than a guy like Houck or Sale. There's still a chance Pivetta ends the season in the bullpen, but my money says he takes this opportunity to the bank, racking up some great starts in August and September to prove why he's still a valuable right-hander at 30 years of age.
Kutter Crawford - SP
Oddly enough, the 27-year-old Crawford has also spent some time in a long relief role this season. In fact, it appears his return to the rotation in June correlated with Pivetta's move to the bullpen a couple of weeks prior. The 2017, 16th round draft pick started twice to begin the year before appearing the following eight times from the bullpen. Crawford was extremely effective in that stretch, allowing just four earned runs in 21.2 innings, leading to his promotion to starter again on June 3.
In his 11 starts since then, Crawford has not showcased a strikeout upside anywhere near Pivetta's, but just six homers, 13 walks, and a 4.12 xFIP is valuable, especially when four of those starts came at Fenway Park. Watching his most recent start on Wednesday in Seattle, it's easy to see Crawford's confidence growing. The righty uses his namesake pitch often to create weak contact, but he also throws four-seamers, sliders, curve balls, and changeups to keep hitters on their toes. A few lengthy at-bats kept him to just five innings in the outing, but Crawford struck out a batter per inning, walked just one, and allowed four harmless hits in his scoreless start.
The issue here is twofold: First, Pivetta's upside is clear, and if I'm Alex Cora, it's much harder to take him out of the rotation at the moment when the likes of Sale and Whitlock return. Second, Crawford doesn't possess nearly as much fantasy value as Pivetta, especially in Roto leagues where strikeouts and longer outings are vital. Therefore, I would prioritize Pivetta over the youngster simply on his upside alone.
However, there's still a decent chance that Crawford gets his eight or nine more starts this year to keep the injury-prone starters away from more injury, and if that's the case, there's a growing soft-contact specialist here that's worth a speculative add. Just be aware that Crawford has reached the six-inning mark only twice since returning to the rotation, and he's struck out five hitters or less in all but two starts as well. Good stuff here for baseball, but it's just average stuff for fantasy baseball.
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