Starter: Clay Buchholz

Who Is He?
Buchholz was drafted in the supplemental round of the 2005 MLB draft by the Red Sox, famously with the compensation pick for losing Pedro Martinez. He shot through the minors in a dominant fashion, striking out 311 and walking just 68 in 244 innings between 2006 and 2007, then threw a no-hitter in just his second major league start in September of 2007.

Buchholz has a solid fastball, a great changeup, and when he can locate it, one of the nastiest 12-6 curveballs since Tom Gordon. While he struggled in his first full major league season, he showed much better composure last year. For ten starts from August 8 to September 24, he had a 2.37 ERA and allowed just a .572 OPS against. He followed that up with a very strong (ultimately losing) performance in game three of the ALDS against LAAAAAA. He looks to be the team’s #5 starter going into the season, though there is a bit of a logjam with Tim Wakefield also pronouncing himself healthy and ready to pitch.

Why Do We Like Him?
Clay was a disappointment in his first full year. It’s hard to tell what a player is feeling from his body language, but Clay looked panicked when he would let runners on base in 2008, and would often rely too much on whatever pitch he felt most confident in that day. In 2008, he allowed a .720 OPS with the bases empty, but this ballooned to .987 when there were runners on.

Last year, Clay was a different pitcher. Not only did he pitch better with runners on than with the bases empty (.716 OPS v .738), but he also seemed more confident and composed on the mound as well as in interviews. This year, he has added 15 pounds to his lanky frame, which should help him maintain his stamina and harness all of his immense talent.

Plus, my mom likes him and thinks he is cute after watching him pitch one game with me.

Animation courtesy of www.pensionplanpuppets.com.