ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Red Sox manager John Farrell wouldn’t mind if Justin Masterson started throwing 95-mph fastballs again.

“It would be nice,” he said.

The reality is that Masterson’s fastball has averaged about 88- 89 mph this season, occasionally touching 91 mph. Yet he’s still struck out 17 batters in 152⁄3 innings, the fourth-most strikeouts of any major leaguer with less than 16 innings this year.

Is velocity overrated?

“It depends,” Masterson said yesterday. “Sometimes it can be a sign of being hurt or something. Sometimes it’s the sign of somebody who is trying to work back. I’m trying to get to where I was before, but also what’s hard as a player, you’re like, ‘Velocity, velocity, velocity.’ Then you’re trying to overthrow and your stuff isn’t going to be as good because you’re trying to throw through your stuff. And if you have sink you’re going to be throwing through your sink. You won’t be as good, you might be off with your control.

“So sometimes during the game, you have to embrace what you have. And move on from there.”

Masterson is still trying to recover from a dreadful 2014 season in which an oblique injury led to a knee injury, rendering him totally ineffective by year’s end.

In two of his three starts for the Red Sox this season, Masterson has shut down opposing lineups without throwing his best fastball. He’s been trying to pitch more as he did during his 2013 All-Star season, relying more on his slider to neutralize left-handed batters. When the hard-bending pitch starts off looking dead-red and then breaks off toward left-handers’ knees, Masterson is incredibly difficult to hit, no matter how hard his fastball is being thrown.

Still, throwing 95 mph again would be nice.

“If it comes, it comes,” he said. “If it doesn’t, you have to slice and dice with what you got. You really have to pitch. So in the end, velocity may not make a difference if you can separate what you were before from what you are now and use what you got.”

Masterson has yet to allow a home run and has given up just 14 hits in 152⁄3 innings, but the eight walks have been tough to swallow. The command is most important.

“And we’re hopeful that through repeated starts, the arm strength will continue to climb as the weather warms,” Farrell said. “I don’t think power pitchers fully hit their stride until the middle of May. That’s just a personal opinion and hopefully that’s the case with Justin.”