Boston Red Sox: Rick Porcello can learn from Corey Kluber

It’s not common for a pitcher to lead the league in wins one year then lose more than anyone else the next. Boston Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello did just that in 2016 and 2017. Can he get his career back on track?

Rick Porcello surprised everyone when he won 22 games in 2016. This helped him steal the Cy Young Award out from Justin Verlander’s feet, much to the annoyance of Kate Upton.

The performance made many Boston Red Sox fans forgive his dreadful 2015 debut in Beantown. A year later, their negative thoughts about Porcello have returned.

The 2017 season was unkind to Porcello. He lost a league-leading 17 games for the American League East Champions. It’s not often a player goes from leading the league in wins one year to losing the most the following. He’s not the only guy in recent history to earn this dubious honor. Another American League pitcher with a Cy Young Award on his mantle is a recipient of this dubious honor. Luckily, he was able to recapture the magic.

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Cleveland Indians’ ace Corey Kluber won the 2014 AL Cy Young. This was in part because he won 18 games. The next season, Kluber lost a league-worst 16 games.

Kluber’s fall wasn’t nearly as disastrous as Porcello’s. Although Kluber was only 9-16 in 2015, he still managed to finish ninth in the Cy Young voting. It also helped that he led the league with four complete games.

Among Porcello’s statistics which led the league this season are runs allowed and home runs. The reigning AL Cy Young winner gave up a league leading 236 hits and 125 runs, 105 of which were earned, over 203.1 innings of work. He also surrendered a league-worst 38 home runs. On the plus side, he did face 885 batters, which also led the AL. So, from a glass half-full perspective, he got a lot of work in.

The Red Sox signed Porcello through 2019. He is set to make over $21 million in each of the next two seasons. Thus far, the Red Sox have paid him over $52 million to for one great season and two below average ones. Using Kluber an example of how quickly a pitcher can bounce back, there is some hope for Porcello after all.

Since his 16-loss season in 2015, Kluber has won 18 games in each of the last two. This year, there’s a chance he even recaptures the Cy Young Award. Though Porcello doesn’t have the same track-record as Kluber, he can certainly get back on track and put this season full of losses behind him very quickly.

Next: Ramirez, Rodriguez go under the knife

For the sake of enjoying his time in Boston, he’ll need to.