Five Sox storylines to follow down stretch

Sep. 13—They may not be mathematically eliminated, but for all intents and purposes the Red Sox playoff hopes are dead. If last weekend's sweep of the Texas Rangers sparked a faint flicker of hope, the subsequent sweep at the hands of Tampa Bay was effectively the final nail in the coffin.

Now Boston enters the week 10 games back in the Wild Card race with 22 games to play and four teams still to jump, so realistically the Red Sox will be playing out the string from here hoping to at least finish this disappointing season strong.

Even with that being the case, there are still plenty of reasons to follow the Red Sox over the final three weeks.

1. How well are Casas, Bello coming along?

All season long Red Sox fans have been clamoring to see top prospects Triston Casas and Brayan Bello. Well, they're here now, so fans excited to see the two potential franchise cornerstones in action will have good reason to keep tuning in.

Bello has taken some impressive steps forward after a rocky first couple of outings. In four starts since returning from the injured list on Aug. 24 the rookie has posted a 3.54 ERA over 20.1 innings, and his last two starts were particularly strong. The righty's changeup in particular has been filthy, and with a pitch mix and mound presence that evokes a young Pedro Martinez, all of his starts from here on out will be appointment viewing.

As for Casas, the newly promoted first baseman clearly looks the part defensively. He made some excellent plays in his MLB debut and has been a clear upgrade over Bobby Dalbec and Franchy Cordero. Offensively he's still getting settled, having gone 2 for 21 (.095) with a two-run home run through his first seven games, but his plate discipline has stood out even if the results aren't quite there yet.

2. Can Bogaerts win batting title?

All season long the conversation around Xander Bogaerts has related to his uncertain future, but whether or not he'll be back in Boston next year, he has a chance to do something pretty remarkable.

Entering Sunday Bogaerts leads all American League hitters with a .319 batting average, just ahead of Minnesota's Luis Arraez (.315). Arraez had been the leader in the clubhouse for most of the season, but a recent slump combined with Bogaerts batting .500 over his last 13 games has set up a neck-and-neck race to the finish.

3. Can Wacha finish season strong?

When Michael Wacha signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Red Sox last offseason, nobody could've imagined the impact he'd have. Though his season has been disrupted by two trips to the injured list, Wacha has been outstanding whenever he's taken the mound and currently stands at 11-1 with a 2.69 ERA.

As it stands now Wacha is one of only two Red Sox starters who have made at least 15 starts and posted a win percentage better than .900. Clay Buchholz set the franchise's single-season record at 12-1 (.923) in 2013, and Wacha (.917) could tie or surpass that mark with a couple more wins down the stretch.

4. Will any relievers set themselves apart?

Outside of Garrett Whitlock and perhaps John Schreiber, pretty much every other Red Sox reliever is pitching for his job. Pending free agent Matt Strahm has a chance to build up his value, veterans like Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier and Jeurys Familia are all trying to finish disappointing seasons on a high note, and recent minor league call-ups like Tyler Danish, Kaleb Ort, Zack Kelly, Eduard Bazardo are effectively getting a big league audition.

Are any of them going to be part of the future? The Red Sox are trying to find out, and with big changes coming to the bullpen this will be a crucial time for the club to see what it already has.

5. Can Sox play spoiler?

Even if the Red Sox likely won't make the playoffs themselves, they'll still have ample opportunity to make things miserable for their rivals.

Out of the club's 22 remaining games, 16 are set to come against AL East opponents, including six against the Yankees, four against the Orioles and three each against the Blue Jays and Rays.

The Yankees are currently trying to hold off the Rays and avoid a potentially historic divisional collapse. If nothing else the Red Sox could inflict some real damage over those last two series, which might offer a small measure of satisfaction in what has otherwise been a real bummer of a year.

Email: mcerullo@northofboston.com.

Twitter: @MacCerullo.