Rich Hill: King of the Pitcher’s Mound
By Bill Pivetz
The Boston Red Sox pitching staff has been horrible, to put it nicely, this season. This is mostly because their best starting pitcher, Clay Buchholz, and closer, Koji Uehara, are on the DL. The lowest ERA among the current starting pitchers is 3.97. With numbers like that, you won’t be winning many games. However, there is a bright spot to the current rotation. Rich Hill has pitched well in his first and only three starts this season. If you are looking for a spot starter or need strikeout help, Hill is your guy.
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Rich Hill has been around the league since 2005, when he began his career with the Chicago Cubs. After four years, he spent one season in Baltimore, three with the Red Sox, one year in Cleveland and split 2014 with the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees before landing back in Boston.
In his 11 seasons, 200 games, he has a career 4.55 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 26-22 record. Out of those 200 games, he only made 73 starts, most of them with the Cubs. In his previous stint with the Red Sox, Hill was mostly used as a relief pitcher, owning a 1.14 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 31.2 innings.
This season, the Red Sox had no choice but to put him in the rotation. Maybe they should have done it sooner because it is working. He joined the rotation on Sept. 13 and is 2-0 in three starts. He has a 1.17 ERA, 0.52 WHIP and a 30:2 K:BB rate. He struck out 10 batters in each game so far.
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His most recent outing was a complete-game, two-hit shutout against the Baltimore Orioles.
With very little of the regular season remaining, Rich Hill is someone you need to add for the home stretch. While it isn’t official, he is slated to face the Yankees next Thursday, according to the Red Sox official website.
Fantasy owners still in the championship are adding Hill. He’s been added in 36 percent of ESPN leagues over the last seven days. He is the most-added pitcher in that span. There are few pitchers worth adding left on the waiver wire, so pick up Rich Hill while you still have the chance.