After some impressive inter-league play against the Colorado Rockies, the Boston Red Sox look to improve their position over the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. Boston is off to one of its best starts in recent years, with a less known roster. Led by veteran World Series winners Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz, the Red Sox are returning to the powerhouse form of the mid-2000s. While Ortiz and Pedroia are having strong starts to their seasons, the bulk of Boston’s early success comes from the young players turned out by the farm system. Players such as Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. have carried the team to the top of the American League.
Red Sox Young Talent Drives Team
These young players have excelled in the field as well as at the plate. Xander Bogaerts, the 23-year-old shortstop out of Aruba, is beginning to carve himself out as one of the league’s best shortstops. He leads the AL in batting average, and continues to blast pitcher’s mistakes over the Green Monster. At only 23 years of age, there is more than enough time for Bogaerts to grow into a household name. His hitting is carrying right over from last season, when he batted .320 and nearly racked up 200 hits, along with other impressive numbers at the plate. Manager John Farrell has intelligently sandwiched Xander in between Pedroia and Ortiz, which almost guarantees that he won’t be pitched around. In the field, Bogaerts is seemingly flawless, committing only error error through 388 innings. Bogaerts will inevitably go through some slumps at the plate, but if he can keep his defense as solid as it has been since the beginning of last year, he will keep the Red Sox competetive in the tough AL East.
The two young outfielders, Bradley Jr. and Betts, have played key roles in the outfield this year for Boston. Betts hitting leadoff has proven to be an extremely beneficial catalyst for a Red Sox offense that loves to score early. Betts’ combination of speed and power can have devastating results on opposing pitchers. Mookie had a decent 2015 season, batting .291 with eighteen home runs, but he has made great strides season. He has already matched half of his home run total from last year, and is getting on base pretty efficiently, with an OBP of .321. His numbers might not be staggering, but Betts plays his part well for a team who’s success depends on players knowing, and acting on, their roles.
Next to Betts, in centerfield, Jackie Bradley, Jr. continues his growth as a player. A speedy young outfielder out of South Carolina, JBJ is hitting just as well as anyone in the league, with a .346 AVG., not to mention a twenty-nine game hitting streak that ended Thursday night against Colorado. Having that kind of efficiency in the bottom third of the lineup allows Farrell to utilize the rest of his lineup successfully. In the field, JBJ and Betts have the speed to cover that tricky right center field at Fenway. Both guys have strong arms that limit opposing base runners from trying to stretch singles into doubles, and doubles into triples. These young outfielders may not get national attention, at least not yet, but they are playing as well as anyone else.
Boston currently holds a slim lead over Baltimore in the division, which would not be possible if it weren’t for the play of these young, talented studs. The scary part for the rest of the league is that each one of these players has room and time to grow, which undoubtedly will occur, especially under Farrell and hitting coach Chili Davis. Let’s not forget, the Red Sox also have Cuban prospect Rusney Castillo down in Triple-A, another outfielder with tremendous power at the plate. Keep an eye on Bogaerts, Betts, and JBJ, as they will be gaining more and more recognition for their contributions to the Red Sox and the game of baseball.
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