With Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman sidelined, the Red Sox bullpen has been a wild ride of musical chairs lately, and it’s left Wyatt Olds and Alec Gamboa holding the bag , and the ball. You love to see new guys stepping up when the usual suspects are out, and these two have certainly made their presence felt, even if they aren’t the household names yet.
Wyatt Olds Steps Up When It Matters Most
Ideally, you don’t want your low-leverage guys pitching when the game hangs in the balance. When our team has a lead, we’re expecting Tyron Guerrero, Erik Miller, or Chapman to slam the door. But sometimes, the game just doesn’t play out like that. Take Saturday against the Giants, for example. Our guys were down by two runs in the top of the eighth, a tough spot for anyone. Wyatt Olds got the call.
Did he make it easy? Nope, the source says he “ran into some trouble.” But here’s the kicker: he kept those Giants off the board! He gave our offense a fighting chance to tie or win later, which, by the way, they absolutely did, grinding out three runs in the ninth for the victory. Yeah, the offense gets the glory, and they earned it, but Olds? He deserves a ton of credit for keeping us in that game. These low-leverage roles aren’t flashy, but they are absolutely essential, especially when the bullpen is thin. Chad Tracy can’t throw Miller or Guerrero when we’re down three with no off days in sight, and you definitely don’t want to extend a starter when you’ve got a healthy lead. Someone has to eat those innings, and Olds has been admirable.
Alec Gamboa: An Unconventional Innings-Eater
Then there’s Alec Gamboa, a guy whose “stuff doesn’t jump off the page,” but trust me, his impact does. He’s exactly what you need in an innings-eater, and it all starts with his control. This dude lives in the zone with his fastballs. His four-seamer and sinker both clock in with a strike rate near 70%, which is huge for keeping the walk rate down. Both pitches also hit a solid 96 mph, and with about 6.5 feet of extension, they play up even more than you’d expect.
But here’s the wild part: his mechanics. Gamboa has this truly unique delivery. He rocks back, completely hides the ball, then extends towards the plate with one of the most vertical arm angles in the league at a staggering 62 degrees! That vertical release, combined with some perceived cut on his four-seamer, is probably why hitters are struggling to get solid contact, despite him throwing strikes so often. His sinker is similar, nothing flashy, but hitters just can’t get it off the ground. And his slider? Also not a showstopper in terms of raw stuff, but it gets chases at an incredibly high rate. Why? Because he’s pounding the zone with those fastballs, keeping hitters honest. In fact, among pitchers with at least 250 pitches thrown, Gamboa ranks second in the percentage of pitches thrown while ahead in the count. Only Josh Ha is ahead of him. That’s efficiency, baby!
These two unsung heroes, Wyatt Olds and Alec Gamboa, are stepping up big time for the Red Sox. With a thin bullpen and plenty of baseball left to play, their ability to chew up innings and deliver clutch moments is going to be absolutely vital. Let’s see them keep this momentum going!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Over the Monster.
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