It’s time to move on to the starting pitching corps in our grading series of the 2025 Boston Red Sox’s roster. You can probably guess who comes out on top among this group, though a number of starters besides the staff ace had impressive years worth analyzing.
For this exercise, starters had to make at least three starts to qualify for a grade. Also note that minor league stats weren’t factored in here–these grades are based purely on each pitcher’s major league performance this season.
You can see our grades for catchers here, infielders here, and outfielders here.
Garrett Crochet was the anchor of the starting rotation and was as advertised throughout the entire season. We’ve gassed him up plenty over the season here at Talk Sox, so I won’t spend a ton of time doing it here, but he pitched to a 2.59 ERA over 205 1/3 innings in 2025. He had a record of 18-5 and posted 6.3 WAR. He was the best pitcher on the team by a mile and will likely finish second in American League Cy Young voting. He’s an absolute hoss—a war pig. He’s going to be the face of this rotation for years to come.
Brayan Bello, for the most part, had a career year in 2025. He posted a 3.35 ERA over 166 2/3 innings pitched with 6.74 strikeouts per nine and 3.23 walks per nine. He showed adaptability by changing his pitch mix during the season, even advocating to throw his fastball more often and reintroducing his changeup. His demeanor on the mound improved this season as well. He was able to pitch himself out of jams and remain poised. He likely would have been bumped up to the next letter grade had his September and postseason not tanked the second half of his season. He didn’t completely fall apart, but he looked far more beatable than he had for most of the season. Bello was forced to be this team’s number two starter this season, and he mostly thrived in that role. Should he continue on this trajectory next season, he will be one of the more fearsome No. 3 starters in the American League (assuming the Red Sox add a true co-ace for Crochet).
Lucas Giolito was a dependable third starter in 2025. He fulfilled the second year of a two-year contract after having an internal bracing procedure in 2024. He pitched to a record of 10-4 with an ERA of 3.41. Like Bello above, Giolito began to falter as the season drew to a close. A re-aggravation of his elbow injury caused him to be unavailable for entirety of the playoffs and more than likely is making the team think long and hard about if they should pick up their side of his mutual option. Giolito would be a steady, veteran presence on next year’s staff, but the potential for his elbow to flare up again may keep the team from being all in on a final year of his services.
We’ll keep this one short and sweet. Walker Buehler was awful during his time with the Red Sox. He was the least dependable starter in the rotation, pitching his way to a 5.45 ERA with, somehow, a record of 7-7. He gave up hard contact often and was incredibly dramatic while on the mound, typically when he didn’t need to be. He was DFA’d as the team was entering their stretch run to the playoffs, and the Red Sox arguably got stronger because of it.
Like Buehler above, we won’t spend a ton of time rehashing Dustin May’s brief stint with the Red Sox. He was brought in at the trade deadline and never found his footing in Boston. He posted a 5.40 ERA over 28 1/3 innings with the club, finishing the season on the injured list. He was throwing in Fort Myers by the end of the year, but he was never really considered for a spot on the postseason roster, which should tell you everything you need to know about his time with the team.
Connelly Early was called up late in the season and performed admirably. He finished the campaign with a 2.33 ERA over 19 1/3 innings and made the biggest start of his career in Game 3 of the Wild Card round. He flashed a ton of potential and will be in contention for a starting rotation spot in 2026. He features a plus fastball with solid secondary options, and so far, hasn’t met a moment too big for him. His 13.50 strikeouts per nine technically puts him above Crochet, but it’s a much smaller sample size. Connelly has the makings of a breakout pitcher in 2026, and his cup of coffee in the majors this season should have every one excited for the next phase of his career.
Undone by an ACL tear in July, Hunter Dobbins was making a case of be a mainstay of the rotation before his injury. His 4.13 ERA wasn’t ideal, but his FIP was a steadier 3.87. He got hosed by the defense behind him from time to time and that inflated his overall numbers. His ACL injury will keep him on the shelf for at least part of next season, but he will be much-needed depth later on in 2026.
Richard Fitts was expected to compete for a back-end rotation spot in 2025, but injuries limited his effectiveness. He had a 5.00 ERA on the season over 45.0 innings pitched. His 2.20 home runs per nine ranked second-worst on the team, a trend that he needs to shake. He likely won’t factor into the rotation plans moving forward unless injuries begin to pile up, though it never hurts to have a guy who can eat up bulk innings lingering around in the organization.
The second rookie on this list, Payton Tolle was a mixed bag as a starter. His first start was electric and showed that he has the potential to be a mainstay starter at some point soon. The rest of his starts, though, showed a pitcher who only featured one true pitch with secondaries that aren’t ready for MLB-caliber hitters. He was moved to the bullpen to close the season and stuck there throughout the team’s brief playoff run. In his 16 1/3 innings with the Red Sox, Tolle surrendered a 6.06 ERA, though a 4.50 xERA points to brighter days ahead.
Much like Buehler and May’s sections, we’ll keep this short and sweet. Tanner Houck’s season was abysmal. He made nine starts with a 0-3 record to show for them. His ERA was 8.04 over 43 2/3 innings pitched. He underwent Tommy John surgery in August of this year and will likely miss the entirety of the 2026 season. It’s easy to play the ‘what-if’ game with Houck after his dominant first half of 2024, but there are lingering questions about his fit on the team as he recovers from surgery.
Craig Breslow’s focus on adding pitching helped propel the Red Sox to their most successful season in recent years, but there is still work to be done. With Garrett Crochet anchoring the rotation, adding a second top-of-the-rotation pitcher is of the utmost importance this offseason for the front office.