Buchholz Start Sends Red Sox To .500

Red Sox phenom Clay Buchholz surrendered four runs in five innings while striking out seven in his season debut. Errors were made in the field that make Buchholz's line look a lot worse, though the two walks he issued did come back to haunt him. One positive showing from his debut was that he struck out seven, so he still has the stuff to get guys out. However, arm troubles from the previous season still worry me, and it is refreshing to see that the Red Sox are not going to push him to rake in innings.

For awhile, I was not sold on the idea of having Buchholz in the rotation. I was not impressed by his Spring Training outings, but after reviewing his stats, I can't find a reason not to have him in the MLB. In three minor league seasons playing at each level, his K/9 was 11.23 while his BB/9 was 2.43. He rarely gave up a homerun, and kept his ERA down despite playing behind poor defenses up and down the minor league system. I have yet to see the highlights of the Red Sox game, but I expect Buchholz to do well for the Red Sox this season. If you are an avid fantasy league owner like me, I would watch Buchholz in his next start versus the Yankees, because he is scheduled to face the Yankees in the start following that as well.