Much has been made about the improved quality of Red Sox pitching prospects in the team's minor league system. For the first time in some time, the organization appears well-stocked with intriguing arms, any number of whom could soon be part of the parent club's starting rotation, and for a team that hasn't developed a successful home-grown starter in more than a dozen years, that's significant news indeed.
Of course, potential is one thing; results are another.
It's one thing to have highly-regarded arms in the system, praised by Baseball America and drooled over by scouts. But ultimately, this isn't about winning over the Prospect Industrial Complex; it's about winning games.
And now, twice in the last three games, that's what's happened for the Red Sox. With both Nate Eovaldi and Garrett Whitlock sidelined and on the IL, the Sox suddenly had two openings in their rotation.
On Sunday, the final game of their 10-game West Coast road trip, Kutter Crawford stepped up and delivered five shutout innings, allowing just one hit, in a Red Sox win. On Wednesday, it was Josh Winckowski's turn. He, too, provided five shutout innings, as the Red Sox dusted the hapless Oakland A's, 10-1.
Two rookies, two team wins -- in the span of four days.
"It's very important,'' said Alex Cora. "And we still have more (pitching). We believe we've got more. They've got good stuff. What (Worcester pitching coach Paul Abbott) is doing down there in Triple A is worth mentioning. He's really good. We've stayed in contact with him, we make adjustments and we prepare these kids to come up here and pitch this way. We expect them to do a good job, because stuff-wise, they're really good.''
Cora went on to credit the support staff here -- led pitching coach Dave Bush, bullpen coach Kevin Walker and game plan coordinator Jason Varitek -- for simplifying things for the young pitchers.
Rule 1 from the triumvirate: throw strikes. It sounds ridiculously obvious, but in the major league environment, facing big league hitters, the simple things can be forgotten.
Winckowski seemed to ignore the dictum last month when he made his debut and proceeded to issue three walks in just three innings, leading directly to four runs and a loss.
On Wednesday, WInckowski was far better with his strike-throwing, though he did walk the leadoff hitter, Tony Kemp, to start the game. That, however, would be his last free pass.
Mostly, WInckowski relies on his heavy two-seamer, inducing weak contact and getting plenty of groundouts from the A's -- 10 of the 15 outs he recorded came on the ground.
"I could have a few more K's, but otherwise, I was pretty happy with (the outing),'' said WInckowski, part of the three-team trade involving Andrew Benintendi 16 months ago. "It definitely feels good to help the team win. The runs I gave up (in his debut) were the only runs Baltimore scored, so I almost felt like I directly lost us the game. It feels good to go the other way tonight.''
Results, after all, are what ultimately matter. Player development is one thing, but if all of the coaching and instruction doesn't translate into success at the big league level, what good does it do an organization.
Over the last decade, the Red Sox have been excited about some pitchers in the system, from Henry Owens to Brian Johnson, and the list goes on. None of the prospects, however, turned into successful major league starters in Boston. That, in turn, forced the Red Sox into spending heavily -- in dollars or prospects or both -- for Chris Sale, David Price and Nate Eovaldi.
When you can grow your own, you can allocate resources elsewhere and not incur the risk of paying premium prices for pitchers already in their 30s, or soon to be.
The encouraging part is that, as impressive as the wins have been this week, Crawford and Winckowski aren't considered the best of the current prospect crop. On the same night that Winckowski was efficiently turning back the A's at Fenway, Brayan Bello was wowing everyone in Worcester, recording eight strikeouts in five-plus innings at Polar Park. In 33.1 innings since being promoted from Double-A Portland, Bello has posted 44 strikeouts.
Bryan Mata, another hard-throwing international free agent, is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. It's conceivable, though obviously not a given, that both pitchers could make their major league debuts before the 2022 season is over.
Crawford has earned himself another start Saturday, and Winckowski is likely to pitch Monday against Detroit, when the turn comes around again.
Ignoring prospect rankings and glowing scouting reports, the Red Sox seek results -- the kind they've gotten twice already this week.