The buzz building around Brayan Bello is real.

The quality and depth of the Red Sox’s starting pitching prospects is suddenly rich and enticing. Josh Winckowski is expected to make his major league debut in this Saturday’s doubleheader. Bryan Mata is turning heads in Fort Myers as he returns from Tommy John surgery.

But Bello – Boston’s top-ranked pitching prospect and last season’s Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year – is the most exciting of the bunch. The 23-year-old right-hander, freshly promoted from the Portland Sea Dogs to Triple-A Worcester last week, is beginning to generate hype that’s rarely been seen from a Red Sox starting pitching prospect over recent years.

“Any time he starts, we’re excited,” Red Sox farm director Brian Abraham said. “I think we’re lucky enough to have a lot of players that are like that. There’s no doubt with his demeanor on the mound, the quick pace, the electricity of his stuff, there’s certainly a certain buzz around not only the ballpark but all of our affiliates and all of our staff on the nights he’s on the mound.”

Bello’s rapid rise through the minor leagues has made him a can’t-miss prospect. He was playing for High-A Salem at this time last year and has dominated each level and passed every challenge that he’s faced. He threw a seven-inning no-hitter with Double-A Portland on May 5, making a promotion to Triple-A almost inevitable. It came last Monday.

With nearly 100 innings pitched in Double-A, Bello proved sustained effectiveness to graduate from that level. This season, Abraham said, all of Bello’s pitches “increased dramatically” and a number of other factors, including a high ground ball rate, made the call-up to Worcester a reality.

“I think ultimately going into his last couple outings, we felt pretty confident that he was ready for that next challenge in Triple-A,” Abraham said.

Abraham pointed to Bello’s progress coming out of the COVID-canceled 2020 season as something of a turning point for his ascension. When he came back for the 2021 season, Bello was stronger, more athletic and put on good weight. It translated on the mound. He made just six starts for High-A Salem to start ‘21 before a fast promotion to Double-A, which Abraham admitted was a bit abnormal.

“I think the year off helped make us feel comfortable based on the progress he made with his pitches, with his body that he was ready for that next step,” Abraham said.

Bello possesses a three-pitch mix of a two-seam fastball, slider and change-up, but Abraham said the development of his fastball, which consistently sits at 97-98 mph, has played a major part in his sudden rise. Abraham credited Double-A pitching coach Lance Carter and pitching coordinator Shawn Haviland in helping Bello hone in on his fastball, which they believe has had a domino effect on the rest of his arsenal.

“I really think (Bello’s fastball) has pushed his overall starter development to the next level,” Abraham said. “Obviously he’s always had the velo, but the action and the movement on his two-seam has really allowed him to be extremely effective with all three of his pitches and have them all be a pitch that can be used heavily throughout an outing, all for swing and miss, all for strikes, all competitive pitches that can be utilized at any time against any hitter.”

Bello’s transition to Triple-A has looked seamless as he’s produced back-to-back 10-strikeout games in his first starts with the WooSox, though he allowed three walks in six innings on Tuesday.

“In some ways, I like to think he kind of picked up where he left off in Double-A. He’s done a lot of the same things,” Abraham said. “I don’t want to say we expected it, but I don’t think there’s any reason for us to think that he couldn’t go up and do the same things he was doing in Double-A, based on again, his pitch mix, what he’s been doing in Double-A. … his first-pitch strikes, competitive pitch percentage, overall strike percentage along with swing and miss ability with all of his pitches. It’s kind of a recipe for success. …

“There’s going to be some bumps in the road I’m sure, but to start off strong based on the person, based on the competitor, I’m not surprised.”

Given Bello’s meteoric rise through the system over the last year, it’s fair to wonder when he’ll make his debut in the majors.

Abraham noted that because Bello is on the 40-man roster, there’s always a chance that he could be called up. But as good as he’s looked, the Red Sox certainly want to continue to develop him, especially since he’s so new to the Triple-A level. Among other things, Abraham said they want to continue to focus on the command of Bello’s change-up, which he described as a plus pitch that may be his best pitch, as his secondary stuff continues to come along.

Could a big-league call-up to Boston be coming for Bello this season? It’s certainly not out of the question.

“I would never put any limitations on any of our players, certainly not someone like Brayan,” Abraham said. “But at the same time, he obviously still has a lot to work on. It’s only been two starts and I think as long as he continues to progress, develop and learn as he’s done the first two starts in Triple-A, I don’t see any reason why he can’t make a similar step into the big leagues at some point. …

“Our job on the minor league side is for when that phone call happens, when that time for him is called, that he is prepared to do so and be able to make an impact when (Alex Cora), when Dave Bush, when Chaim (Bloom) needs him to do.”

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