Pedro Martinez Explains Why Brayan Bello's Worth The Hype, How He Can Become Ace

Martinez is a big believer in the potential of Bello

The Boston Red Sox have a hard-throwing, slender-framed, budding ace with a filthy changeup from the Dominican Republic for the first time since Pedro Martinez. 

Of course, that would be in reference to Brayan Bello who showed flashes of his ceiling toward the end of a season after he was brought up earlier than he was supposed to be. 

So, who better to ask about the talented 23-year-old than his most successful predecessor? 

Martinez spoke at length about how talented Bello is and what it will take for the right-hander to reach his nearly-unmatched potential.

"It seems to me like he has two plus pitches already in the big leagues with just the fastball and changeup," Martinez told "Inside The Red Sox" on Friday. "And then the natural movement that he creates on the fastball is not anything we can teach. It comes with the package, it comes with the human being that he is, how flexible he is, how he does things, the angle he throws.

"So what we have to do is probably try and improve the third pitch for him so that he has a way out of elimination because that's what hitters do. If they see that they're not going to catch up to your fastball, well, they eliminate the fastball and they go up to the changeup. But when you have a third (pitch), well you have to eliminate two and give me two chances to get you out."

What Martinez is referring to is the approach opposing hitters can take when Bello is on the mound. As it stands now, if the hitter is not confident in his ability to hit the fastball, he'll sit on the changeup, or vice versa. Martinez doesn't believe Bello's third pitch, the slider, is a plus pitch as it stands now. 

I then asked Martinez whether he thought Bello should continue to work on both his slider and curveball at the same time or dump the curve until the slider becomes a plus pitch.

"I think you can use both," Martinez said Friday. "You just have to make him realize when to use it. When do you have what and when can you use it? Because the more you try to add the more difficult it is to locate each one of them.

"The more pitches you have, the more difficult it is to repeat and repeat with consistency. So I'd much rather have three, three and a half, or maybe four pitches than having five or six and not being able to locate or have either one really separate themselves from the rest of the stuff that you're going to show."

While Martinez did not have a problem with Bello developing a fourth pitch at this stage of his career, he made it clear how important it is to really nail down a strong three-pitch mix to have success at the major league level.

"I'd much rather have three consistent (pitches) and I think you should be able to have success with that," Martinez said. "And then when you need it, you show the (fourth pitch) or you flash it just to get the better thinking about those pitches, but in reality three (pitches) are the main concern for any starting pitchers out there."

While the question was pointed at Bello, Martinez made some very similar points when addressing Josh Winckowski's struggles to generate swings and misses. He mentioned the lack of disparity between some of his pitches, which could be largely due to having a five-pitch mix that's hurting more than helping.

It sounds like one of the points of emphasis Martinez will preach to the younger members of the staff is to nail down mechanics and command before trying to expand an arsenal. 

Martinez believes that consistency could be the key for Bello to take the next step, which very well could be to become a frontline starter for Boston. The Hall of Famer has said Bello "has potential to be a Cy Young type of pitcher in the future." 

We can only hope Martinez has a correct assessment of Bello. He's the best chance to buck the Red Sox's trend of not being able to develop any homegrown arms into legitimate frontline starters.

---

The sixth annual Pedro Martinez Foundation Gala will be held on Nov. 11 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel with celebrities such as former Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek and San Diego Padres superstar Juan Soto scheduled to be in attendance. To find out more about the event and/or purchase tickets, click here.

More from the Pedro Martinez interview:

- Pedro Martinez Names Red Sox Pitchers He Plans To Work With In Spring Training

- Pedro Martinez Explains How Young Red Sox Hurler Can Take Next Step