Drew Pomeranz:
With the concerns about Drew Pomeranz’s forearm being minimal, we can focus instead on his 2017 season. After a breakout 2016, there was concern that the Verducci Effect might rear its ugly head.
While Pomeranz wasn’t young enough to qualify for the list, an increase of 84 and 2/3 innings certainly turned some heads. Thankfully, he was able to match his IP total from 2016 during the 2017 campaign and saw a minimal deviation in his rate stats. His ERA was an identical 3.32 with his FIP being just 0.04 higher than his 2016 figure.
Drew Pomeranz appears to have arrived. As long as this current bout of forearm tightness is as minor as it seems, he will be a significant boon to the rotation.
Eduardo Rodriguez:
It feels like Red Sox fans have been waiting for Rodriguez to take his place near the front of the rotation since a head-turning three-game run of dominance to start his major league career. Unfortunately, inconsistency has been his calling card since then.
With the revelation that he was suffering from repeated subluxations of the kneecap and the news that his recovery from surgery is progressing so well, it is time to get excited about EdRo again. He has shown the ability to miss bats at a near elite level sporting an 11.6% swinging strike rate in 2017. That would have been good for 16th in the majors last year had he qualified.
And lest we forget that this will be his age 25 season, if he is healthy, this could be the breakout year we’ve been waiting for since Andrew Miller was traded for him.