Brayan Bello to start on Saturday against Rays

McGonigle received 28 of 30 first-place votes to claim the hardware, with Parker Messick collecting the other two to finish a distant second in the balloting. Payton Tolle placed third, narrowly ahead of Munetaka Murakami and Carter Jensen. The 22-year-old on-base machine set the tone with a four-hit performance on Opening Day and never looked back, finishing the season with a sublime .278/.376/.430 slash line, 97 runs scored, 18 homers, 72 RBI and 12 steals across 707 plate appearances over 156 games. He provided top-10 fantasy value at both shortstop and third base, cementing his status as an early-round selection in drafts for years to come.

McGonigle, who recorded a sublime .278/.376/.430 slash line with 97 runs scored, 18 homers, 72 RBI and 12 steals in 707 plate appearances over 156 games. is the overwhelming favorite to claim the hardware in a year that featured one of the most impressive rookie classes in recent memory. Messick was the best rookie pitcher in baseball this past season, posting a remarkable 2.56 ERA (3.13 xERA), 1.06 WHIP and 193/49 K/BB ratio across 186 1/3 innings over 32 starts. Tolle flashed top-of-the-rotation upside while finishing with an impressive 3.03 ERA (2.69 xERA), 1.10 WHIP and 171/40 K/BB ratio across 148 2/3 innings over 26 starts.

Tolle didn’t look overmatched in his first career postseason start on the road at Yankee Stadium, but he was ultimately outdueled by his New York counterpart Cam Schlitter, who posted 10 strikeouts over 6 1/3 shutout frames. The 23-year-old southpaw did enough to keep the Red Sox within striking distance in the middle innings as an RBI single from Austin Wells with two outs in the third inning accounted for all of the damage against him. He finished with four strikeouts and only issued one walk. He would get the nod for Game 1 of the AL Division Series if the Red Sox find a way to rally in the best-of-three showdown in New York.

Sonny Gray will start Game 2, with Ranger Suarez potentially lined up for Game 3. It seems that Tracy may be looking to break up his lefties. Tolle is certainly a worthwhile Game 1 starter. He finished the regular season with a 3.03 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 28.4 percent strikeout rate across 148 2/3 innings. He has never made a start in the postseason before, while Gray has previous experience. Gray also posted a 2.72 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 21.8 percent strikeout rate in 169 innings this year. Either way, the Red Sox have a nice duo set up to start the first two games of the series.

Bello was pulled after 58 pitches, which would potentially keep him in the relief mix for the Wild Card opener on Tuesday. He gave up one run and posted a 22/3 K/BB over 18 2/3 innings in his final four appearances to finish what originally looked like a disastrous season with a 4.33 ERA in 116 1/3 innings.

It’s unclear how the Red Sox are going to handle the situation since they’re ostensibly locked into the second Wild Card spot heading into the playoffs next week. Patrick Sandoval was scheduled to start Sunday’s season finale and will presumably get the ball on Saturday instead, weather permitting. Jake Bennett, Payton Tolle and Brayan Bello are also in the mix to pitch as well. It’ll be Matthew Boyd and David Peterson most getting the ball for the Cubs during the twin bill with Justin Steele (elbow) in the mix to return from the injured list this weekend. There are a ton of variables that fantasy managers need to monitor with Boston facing inclement weather from roughly Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.

Tolle’s velocity was down by about one mph tonight, but he still did solid work in striking out five and finishing with a 32 percent CSW. He’ll head into the postseason 9-6 with a 3.03 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 148 2/3 innings. It looks like he’ll probably pitch Game 1 against the Yankees next Tuesday.

Tolle draws back into Boston’s rotation after having his previous start against the Rays last weekend pushed back for workload and postseason scheduling reasons. The talented 23-year-old former top prospect is unlikely to work too deep into this outing with the Red Sox having already clinched a playoff spot, but he’s still worth rolling with in nearly all fantasy leagues. This will likely be his final regular-season outing before the Red Sox face the Yankees in the playoffs.

Bello had allowed two baserunners through three scoreless innings before giving up a solo homer to Jonathan Aranda to lead off the bottom of the fourth. He bounced back with four more scoreless frames, giving the Red Sox eight innings of one-run ball in what was his best outing of the season. The 27-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 4.49 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and a 90/35 K/BB ratio across 112 1/3 innings. Saturday’s effort might have earned him another start before the end of the season as the team tries to keep its rotation fresh for the postseason.

The Red Sox haven’t hid the strong possibility that Tolle wasn’t going to pitch this weekend, but it’s a tough break for fantasy managers hoping for an outing against the Rays during playoff action. There’s still a chance that Tolle starts Sunday’s series finale, but the Boston hasn’t finalized their pitching plans beyond having Brayan Bello start Saturday’s contest.