The Boston Red Sox are in new form and are looking better than ever with some new bats hitting bombs off of the heat that are given to them, amassing a 24-9 record. Among these young guys making an impact, there are a few standouts. Namely Mookie Betts, who is 1st in home runs in the MLB with 13, 8th for OBP with a .433, first in SLG at .824, and first in OPS at 1.257, all in 108 at bats! He also broke a record for the most 3 home run games in Red Sox history, passing Ted Williams who had 3. J.D. Martinez is also raking for the Sox, hitting with a .344 AVG (7th in MLB) slugging 7 home runs (tied 65th in MLB), 26 RBI (tied 10th in MLB), a .388 OBP (30th in MLB), a .590 SLG (15th in MLB), and a staggering .978 OPS (16th in MLB), all in 122 at bats! So with these hot starts, are the Red Sox bound for a postseason run?
This question stems past the big performers so far like Betts and Martinez and instead focuses on the pitching. Obviously you have Chris Sale, still as shiny as can be with a 2.14 ERA (tied 10th in MLB), a 0.98 WHIP (15th in MLB), 51 strikeouts (13th in MLB), and .204 BAA (tied 20th in MLB). Sale is a great pitcher and provides the Sox with that consistency they haven’t been finding in many pitchers other than Pomeranz. Another stud who’s been looking great recently is Rick Porcello, the 2016 Cy Young winner who had a large dropoff year in 2017. He’s started this year with a 2.14 ERA (tied 10th in MLB), a 0.82 WHIP (tied 6th in MLB), 46 strikeouts (21st in MLB), and a .193 BAA (tied 15th in MLB). On the opposite side, you have Drew Pomeranz, who has started this year with a rough 6.14 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 14 strikeouts, and a .328 BAA.
The bullpen is also holding its ground decently. They’re of course led by the human fireball, Craig Kimbrel, who’s started this year with a nice 1.23 ERA, a 0.75 WHIP, 21 strikeouts, and a BAA of .143. They also have decent backup guys like Hector Velázquez, who has started this year with a 2.38 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, 16 strikeouts, and a .267 BAA. Another guy is Joe Kelly, who has started the year with a 2.51 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP, 16 strikeouts, and a .143 BAA. He’s always been great, but just in case the Red Sox should definitely keep him away from Tyler Austin, and get him some seats in the bleachers in case he gets hurt or suspended.
Don’t count out some other hitters who are making a nice impact for the Sox this year as well. Hanley Ramirez is off to a nice start, hitting a .297 AVG, 3 home runs, 19 RBI, .366 OBP, .432 SLG, and a .798 OPS. Not only that, but they also have returning power man first baseman, who’s hitting a .338 AVG, 5 home runs, 16 RBI, a .403 OBP, a .647 SLG, and a 1.050 OPS, all in 68 at bats. They also have shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who’s looking to come on the scene as another stud hitter. He’s started this year with a .338 AVG, 3 home runs, 15 RBI, a .368 OBP, a .606 SLG, and a .974 OPS, all in 71 at bats.
So, are they ready for a postseason run? In my opinion, not very much. They do have a lot of emerging stats with some of their hitters, but they’ve never really had these stats in their career. For example, Moreland’s career AVG isn’t in the .300’s, but is rather .254. Once they all return to how they were hitting, I think that they won’t be able to keep up with the Yankees, who are also off to a scorching hot 23-10 start, winning 14 of their last 15 games for the first time in 20 years as well. When it’s all said and done, they’ll likely be facing the Astros in the ALDS in my opinion, who have an amazing team ERA of 2.69. However if they don’t face them, they could face the Indians, who have a team 4.03 ERA compared to the Red Sox’s 3.52 ERA. That’s just a small sample size though, as the Astros have a team .252 AVG and a team .726 OPS while the Indians have a team .244 AVG and a team .737 OPS compared to the Red Sox’s team .269 AVG and a team .791 OPS. We can’t predict the future, but based on the stats from last year, I’d say it’s no very likely, but again you never know until it happens. I could’ve never predicted that the Yankees would have gone from the wild card to being one game away from the World Series. The same could happen with the Red Sox. Let me know if you agree or disagree and what your thoughts are.
The MLB Enthusiast 