Vince Velasquez continues to look like a legit number five

Have the Chicago White Sox found a gem in Vince Velasquez? It would appear that is possible because he had another good outing against a pretty (although struggling) potent Boston Red Sox offense on Friday night.

This is his second consecutive solid outing against a pretty tough offensive team. This may show us that Velasquez belongs in the permanent starting rotation.

When you analyze the numbers from his performance on Friday night, you will see that he is turning into a quality pitcher. In five innings of work, Velasquez allowed just one run on three hits. He had two walks and two strikeouts and one earned run.

He threw 75 pitches with 49 of those being strikes. He ended up being the winning pitcher when it was all said and done.

The Chicago White Sox could have something good in Vince Velasquez right now.

The Red Sox are known for being a team that has some lively bats. Last night, they were taken out of commission by Velasquez.

This allowed for what was a somewhat slow-moving White Sox offense to not have to come up with that many runs to win the game. Solid pitching helps the slow offense. They did, however, score four runs which were just enough to win.

The White Sox should take solace in knowing that they have a strong starting pitcher in Velasquez. This might help them lock down their rotation a little bit further giving them another option at the starting pitcher spot. Velasquez may even be able to replace a guy like Dallas Keuchel sometime soon.

For now, the White Sox needs all hands-on deck with Lance Lynn out of the picture until at least mid-May following knee surgery. Once he gets back, the White Sox will have some decisions to make as to who to keep in the pitching rotation.

If Velasquez continues to perform the way he has been, there is no doubt that he will become a permanent part of the pitching rotation and help the White Sox win a lot of games.

Velasquez’s start has proven that the White Sox have capable pitching available despite the fact some of their top weapons are injured. When Lynn returns, it could be a very good starting pitching rotation.

If Velasquez can continue to play the way he has been playing, the Chicago White Sox will have less to worry about when it comes to pitching. Then they can trust that their starting rotation is one of the better ones in the league.