The Boston Red Sox are trying to make their way to their first playoff appearance in years, and their elite pitching staff is helping tremendously.

However, they do have an X-factor in their rotation. According to Fansided’s Zachary Rotman, it’s the Sox’ rising ace Brayan Bello, who’s finally found his groove after years of underperforming.

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“As disappointing as it was to not see Breslow go all-in, the Red Sox might have a No. 2 starter in-house in Brayan Bello. Bello was nothing but inconsistent in his first three MLB seasons and got off to a rocky start to begin the 2025 campaign, but he’s posted a 2.75 ERA in his last 15 starts since June 1 while averaging an outstanding 6.3 innings per start. He’s gone at least six frames in all but three of these appearances and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but one of them,” Rotman wrote.

Bello has been one of the best pitchers in the MLB since early June, posting a 2.50 ERA since June 10th. He’s got a low K rate, but he makes sure he creates ground balls for his defense to field.

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Rotman continued, noting that quirk, and the fact that Bello tends to rise to the challenge when pitching.

“Sure, it’d be nice if he struck out a couple more guys per outing, and the walks are a tad high, but overall, he’s done a great job limiting contact — and frankly, the results speak for themselves. And what really sticks out about Bello is the fact that he has a 2.69 ERA in 11 starts against teams at or above .500, nearly a run better than the 3.44 mark he has against losing teams. Bello has been able to consistently step his game up against the best competition, giving Red Sox fans hope he can deliver when it matters most,” Rotman stated.

Since the playoffs are right around the corner, that means Bello will be facing the best. And since he rises to the level of his competition, the Sox may be heading for a deep playoff run.

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