Who probably feels like the most chopped of chopped liver right now? This guy.
Who is he and where did he come from?
On Monday, June 9, the Red Sox promoted a guy who’s been mowing down the opposition for the entire month of May, making his presence felt in almost every game he plays in. They also called up Roman Anthony.
In all seriousness, he’s Brian Van Belle. He was an undrafted free agent in the abbreviated draft class of 2020, and likely would have gone somewhere in the middle rounds if that draft was longer than five rounds. He hails from Pembroke Pines, Florida, and stayed in South Florida for college, going 9-2 with 84 strikeouts in 95 1⁄3 innings in his sole full season as a Miami Hurricane in 2019. His signing bonus was $20,000, which is more than most pitchers in the Red Sox organization may have deserved that year, anyway. He moved his way surely through the minor league system, and has been having by far and away his best year as a pro in 2025. The Red Sox mercifully DFA’d Robert Stock after Sunday night’s showing, and got younger twice, replacing Abreu via IL stint with Roman Anthony and again with the 28-year-old Van Belle’s promotion.
What position does he play?
He’s a right-handed pitcher, and Fangraphs has him listed as a relief pitcher, but I’m not sold that’s where he would be utilized best, unless the Hunter Dobbins in relief experiment is short-lived and he’s officially back in the rotation. He’s done a bit of both starting and relief, but it’s interesting how Worcester has used him as a guy who will stay in for 6+ innings. More on that in a second.
Is he any good?
I attend a good amount of Worcester games, where Van Belle has been a mainstay for two years. His promotion from Portland to Worcester came on July 6, 2023, and he ended that season with a middling 4.46 ERA. My instinct to confidently say “he could be” is much, much, MUCH higher than it was 15 months ago. My joke in the first sentence of this article has been very true in the month of May; Van Belle’s ERA was sub-2 last month. He’s earned the decision win in each of his last five starts, pitching to a 1.55 ERA and gaining the decision win in four of them. Here are his lines in those starts, the last of which led to him coasting through a 9-1 win:
May 14: 6 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 6 K, 0 BB
May 20: 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 5 K, 0 BB
May 25: 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB
May 29: 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 5 K, 1 BB
June 7: 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 5 K, 0 BB
This is interesting because Van Belle, who had a significantly higher ERA as a starter in 2024 (8.05), has historically not been a huge strikeout guy. He’s never eclipsed the one strikeout per inning mark, and wouldn’t have now, but he walks very few batters and now has walked just one since May 14. It’s also worth noting that Van Belle, while in relief, dropped his arm motion lower and eliminated his slider, focusing on his fastball that tops out at around 94 MPH. He goes to his sinker most often, and while he doesn’t induce strikeouts, his groundout rate has improved every year since 2023, now eclipsing 50%, perhaps a product of that sinker usage. He just allowed three home runs on May 3 against Toledo and two in that May 14 start, but compare everything else (lol) to his 2023 form and he’s taking strides seemingly by the start.
Tl:dr; give me his 2025 stats.
51 IP, 5-1, 12 appearances, 2.28 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 41 K
Show me a cool highlight.
Van Belle looked great last Wednesday, likely leading to his promotion. Here he is two years ago, directly before his previous promotion, when he struck out eight in six innings in 2023.
What’s he doing in his picture up there?
Working on that arm movement that he changed during his brief retooling to a relief pitcher. Maybe we’ll get a funnier picture soon.
What’s his role on the 2025 Red Sox?
The interesting thing about Van Belle, who turns 29 in September, is that, in the midst of how horrific the Red Sox bullpen has been at times this season, Worcester has used him in a few different capacities. He’s been an opener, he’s been a bonafide starter that you can lean on for 7 innings, and he’s been a multi-inning reliever. When he comes in, though, he’s in for at least multiple innings, and this has been what Boston’s bullpen has been lacking in practice, even though, on paper, the staff’s stamina looks good enough to hold water.
I’ve been convinced for about a month that BVB was going to stay in Worcester this season because, well, Boston’s been cycling through some relief arms, dropping them down to Worcester whenever they need to make room for someone else. Van Belle sits behind Stock (another lol) for innings pitched for the Triple-A squad in 2025. Jason Alexander and Richard Fitts were top two in 2024, Brandon Walter and Shane Drohan in 2023, and Brian Keller and Connor Seabold in 2022. Going back even further, Boston technically doesn’t really use Triple-A innings eaters for much on their Major League squad in any capacity, but that could change if Van Belle makes a splash right away by proving his worth. With the state of this bullpen, and even the back end of the rotation, the door is certainly open.