Shocker: The Red Sox have another good lefty starter

Jake Bennett has been just what the Red Sox needed.

The rookie left-hander has brought stability to a Boston rotation that has been without ace Garrett Crochet since late April and lost Connelly Early to the injured list on Wednesday. Scheduled to take the ball on Friday against the Angels in Anaheim (9:38 p.m. ET), Bennett has a 3.27 ERA in six Major League starts.

Acquired from the Nationals in December for right-hander Luis Perales -- who has a 4.27 ERA at Triple-A Rochester -- Bennett has lived up to expectations and then some. He was the Red Sox’s No. 6 prospect at the time of his May 1 callup, and his first outing set the tone: five innings of one-run ball against the Astros at Fenway Park.

Bennett has been at his best in his two most recent outings, blanking the Rockies over six innings with nine strikeouts on June 22 at Coors Field before beating the Yankees on Saturday, throwing 6 1/3 innings and allowing just three hits and one run while walking two and striking out three.

The Nats’ second-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2022, Bennett has enjoyed success in 2026 regardless of level. He had an impressive 1.60 ERA in nine starts for Triple-A Worcester -- five before his MLB debut and four more before rejoining the Red Sox rotation on June 10. And if his recent big league performances are any indication, Bennett won’t be heading back to the Minors any time soon.

Not only are Bennett’s numbers solid, they’re backed up by excellent Statcast metrics nearly across the board. In fact, some advanced statistics suggest Bennett has even been a bit unlucky: Entering Wednesday, his expected ERA was just 2.64, which ranks in the 94th percentile of qualifying pitchers. That number is helped by Bennett’s ability to avoid hard contact at an above-average rate as well as his 5.4% walk rate (92nd percentile), although his below-average 19.4% strikeout rate (30th percentile) hurts some of his advanced metrics.

As he’s not a particularly hard thrower with an average fastball velocity of 92.7 mph, it makes sense Bennett doesn’t miss a ton of bats: He has 25 strikeouts in 33 innings of work. But where he does excel is getting hitters to expand the strike zone, as Bennett’s 39.1% chase rate ranks fourth among hurlers who have thrown 200 or more pitches out of the zone.

Opponents have to be prepared for any of the six pitches in Bennett’s arsenal, including all three types of fastballs -- a four-seamer, sinker and cutter. The first two along with his excellent changeup (.185 BA, .185 SLG against) are his three principal pitches, but he mixes in his sweeper, curveball and cutter as well, throwing the curve only to right-handed batters and the cutter almost exclusively so.

Bennett’s sweeper isn’t thrown hard, at an average of 79.7 mph, but the lefty makes up for the lack of velocity with elite movement. Compared to sweepers thrown at a similar velocity and release point, Bennett’s sweeper carries 7.7 extra inches of vertical drop, the second most of any qualifying pitcher. Hitters are just 1-for-6 against Bennett’s sweeper so far this season, and they’re only 1-for-5 against his curveball.

When opponents do make contact against the southpaw, he’s still been able to limit severe damage, allowing just four extra-base hits in 129 plate appearances. Bennett has proven elite at keeping the ball either on the ground -- his 55.2% ground-ball rate ranks in the 94th percentile in the Majors -- or too high in the air to cause much hurt.

Opposing hitters have found the sweet spot (8-32 degree launch angle) just 21.9% of the time against Bennett, the second-best mark in MLB behind only Red Sox teammate Aroldis Chapman (18.0%). Bennett has a 13.5% line-drive rate, and if that sounds low, it is: It’s the best in MLB.

Bennett’s low K rate and slightly-below-average whiff rate (24.4%) have been just about the only concerns for a pitcher who has slotted nicely into a lefty-heavy rotation. Among Bennett, Crochet, Early, Payton Tolle, Ranger Suarez, Jovani Morán and Tyler Samaniego, left-handed starters have pitched 321 1/3 innings for the Red Sox, more than 100 above the second-place Phillies for the most in the Majors.

Of course, the Red Sox don’t mind having a lot of lefties if they’re all getting hitters out. Bennett has fit that mold so far, and there’s reason to expect him to continue his standout rookie season.