Nick Pivetta

Pivetta failed to win a starting job with the Phillies, so he began the 2020 season as a reliever. Through three appearances, Pivetta was sporting a 15.88 ERA and 1.94 WHIP with three homers and just four whiffs in 5.2 innings. The struggles prompted Pivetta to lose his roster spot before he was dealt to the Red Sox on Aug. 21. Pivetta was stretched out at Boston's alternate training facility as the Red Sox viewed him as a starter. Pivetta was recalled and made two starts, each lasting five frames with four hits and one earned run allowed. In those 10 innings, he fanned 13 with five walks. The results were enough for Pivetta to get a spring audition as a back-end starter in Boston's depleted rotation. Pivetta will be just 28 years old and the Red Sox are hoping he can rediscover the promising skills displayed in his first two seasons. Perhaps a change of scenery will help, but the wait-and-see approach is recommended.

2019 was supposed to be Pivetta's breakout campaign, as his underlying numbers suggested that a big improvement from his 4.77 ERA was coming. Unfortunately for those who bought into the hype, that didn't come close to happening. He was sent to the minors in mid-April after posting an 8.35 ERA in his first four starts and never really got things together even after returning in late May, posting a 4.66 ERA the rest of way. He lost his rotation spot for good in mid-July, spending the rest of the year in the bullpen. Pivetta's rough season was the product of his numbers falling off across the board. His BB% rose from 7.4% to 9.3%, while his formerly promising 27.1 K% plummeted to 21.1 K%. He also saw his HR/9 balloon to 1.92. The Phillies don't have much reason to bring the Canadian back into the rotation, and there's little reason to believe he'll suddenly become a relief ace.

Pivetta’s underlying numbers from his rookie campaign hinted at the possibility of improvement in 2018, and improvement did indeed come, with the righty cutting his ERA from an ugly 6.02 to a still-high 4.77. The story heading into 2019 is much the same, as Pivetta’s supporting statistics yet again suggest that he has the potential for more. He posted a strong 27.1% strikeout rate (13th-best among qualified starters) and a better-than-average 7.4% walk rate, leading to a solid 3.80 FIP. The problem for the Canadian remains the home-run ball. His career HR/FB remains a troubling 17%, well above the league average. If he can get that in line, he could develop into a workhorse that provides lots of strikeouts and a relatively low ERA. If the homer problem remains, he’ll do enough damage to fantasy owners’ ERAs to render him nothing more than a deep-league option despite the whiffs.

Pivetta was one of several young Phillies to be given a chance in the starting rotation, and like most of them, he struggled, putting up a 6.02 ERA in 133 innings. However, the underlying numbers suggest he deserved better. He struck out 9.5 batters per nine innings, well above the major-league average of 8.3 K/9, and his groundball percentage of 43.8 was right around the league average. His high ERA can be primarily attributed to a relatively high BABIP (.332) and a high HR/FB rate (18.2 percent), both of which can be expected to regress toward the mean next season. If the Phillies trust Pivetta's underlying numbers, he should be given a chance in the rotation again next year and could have more success. Still, he doesn't look like much more than a back-end starter long term.