What is happening?

Welcome to the PlusPitch Podcast.

More Pitching Podcast from PitcherList.com. My name is Nick Pollock. Today is the day for the Red Sox. Oh my gosh. This Red Sox rotation is incredibly interesting. We are going to see some names appear to have value. And we're going to see some names that are going to lose some value. Why? Because in spring training, we'll figure out who is that SP number 5? Is there another trade on the horizon with the Red Sox? Well, there's one thing for certain. Gary Crochet is going to be there, and he's going to be incredible. He is my SP number one entering the season, which I understand if you don't want him there, you want him the SP2 number 3. It doesn't really matter to me. But if I had to choose one, I'm going to choose the guy that has the 30 to 35 percent strikeout rate with the elite ratios and the incredible

win chance. Skeen's and Scoob will do not have the same win probability that Gary Crochet has.

He just went 200 innings. He's been doing everything asked of him by the White Sox and the Red Sox the past two seasons. He's made as a workhorse. He's incredible. His foreseamer is great. His cutter is great. His sweeper is great. His sleeper is great. his sinker is great. It's all there.

I just think he's incredibly safe across the board for all four major categories with the

starting pitcher.

While each of scubel and skeins have a small ding somewhere that is skeins, more so on

the win chance and the volume overall, while scubal isn't quite as elite at the race shows with skeins, isn't quite

as elite with the wins as crochet. So that's why I haven't ranked as I do, but either way,

it doesn't matter what place you put him. Crochet is elite. I'm going to move past him

because I think it's way more interesting to talk about Sunny Gray. Do we like him or not? He did not have a successful 2025 season from a few

standards from the ERA and the whipside. But one of the things I expected the most from Sunday

Gray this year was the strikeout rate to drop closer to 24, 25 percent. And we didn't see that.

It was actually around 27 percent for the season. Why? Because Sunday Gray was so good at throwing backdoor sinkers to right-handers and putting them away. It was a 40% put-away rate, which is unheard of across the pitch thrown as much as it was in 2024. So I said, yeah, that's going to come down. I also expected the sweeper to be less affected him to strike counts against lefties. He was so good again that right under the Nitro Zone for over a 30% put-away rate in 24. However, in 2025, that sweeper was pretty much the same, a little bit worse, but pretty much the same against lefties. But the sinker, above 30% boat away rights still.

So that is part of his bread and butter.

That's still a thing.

And when you consider Sunny Gray from St. Louis to the Red Sox,

there are a couple elements that come to mind.

One, it is a worse park.

Now, the green monster will help Sunny Gray reduce some home runs the left and really to right field where his biggest fault is against the lefties that is a very deep right field which should keep

some balls in the park and that will benefit Sunny Gray who's had some history of higher home runs

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