Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Red Sox

I quote Christian Shephard from Lost when I say 'that's why the Red Sox will never win the World Series'

The Boston Red Sox could have, in all theory, been a good team this year had they had any ounce of good pitching from July until the second week of September. The lineup wasn't bad, there was a nice amount of oddball utility guys coming in late, only Moreland left, and in all actuality Alex Verdugo was a fantastic way of replacing Mookie Betts. But...the pitching problem clouded this team and prevented the Sox from advancing past even the Orioles this year, leaving them with another case of a last place season coming on the heels of a Championship. 

Unless they re-sign him, 2020 will be the final Boston season for veteran outfield star Jackie Bradley Jr. I always criticized Bradley's way of refusing to hit for average while always doing well in the outfield, but Bradley rounded out this year, hitting .283, his highest single season batting average, with 22 RBIs and 7 homers, definitely a strong finish to the contract. 

2021 Prediction: Something tells me Boston won't re-sign him, and he'll sign somewhere in the central divisions where there's not a lot of pressure, and have another strong year.

 

After two straight years of stellar stats, ASG starts and prime home run material, perhaps the lack of crowds reverted J.D. Martinez back to a less-polished state. Martinez only mustered 7 homers this year, hitting .213 with, at the very least, a high-for-Boston 27 RBIs. It's a worrying detail as Martinez could become the umpteenth contracted player in Boston to crap out midway through the deal [Sale has already begun this]. 

2021 Prediction: 30 homers again, but his contact abilities will be shot.

Other than Martin Perez, the only thing resembling quality in the rotation this year was Nasty Nate Eovaldi, two years removed from his stellar postseason run. Eovaldi's season was honestly pretty nice, though- 4-2 record in 9 starts, a 3.72 ERA and a club-leading 52 Ks. Not 2018-Sale levels, but definitely a fine ace audition.

2021 Prediction: Eovaldi will pitch well, but his cruciality to the Boston rotation will hinder on whether or not Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez completely recover from injuries. If the team needs him badly...he may get traded in July. 

Rafael Devers led the Red Sox in strikeouts with 67. For those keeping score, that means Devers struck out more times than any of their pitchers struck other people out. NOT A GREAT STAT, BOSTON. 

What makes Devers' season such a double-edged sword is that he still led the team in RBIs with 43, and tied Xander Bogaerts for home run leader with 11. So he's still a good hitter, and still bat .263 this year, but between him and Martinez, the Sox are bleeding strikeouts. It's a risk they need to ask themselves if it's worth it to take.

2021 Prediction: Another really impressive offensive season, but the strikeout totals are still gonna keep him out of any higher conversations.

Damn this guy...Bobby Dalbec may be the unsung hero of the entire year. This guy's a career minor leaguer, a guy meant to remain a farmhand, and yet he makes his way up this year, and proceeds to hit 8 home runs in 23 games, and 16 RBIs, setting some sort of home run per come-up record I believe, and freaking out a large majority of Boston fans. True, he didn't exactly hit for average, which only made him a marginal step up from Michael Chavis, but he added a great deal of pop and surprise to the Boston lineup in August and September. 

2021 Prediction: Bobby, I'd like you to meet Cory Sullivan and Chris Shelton. They'll help you out with what's about to happen.

Tanner Houck scares the shit out of me, and should scare the shit out of you too. Tanner Houck, with only 3 games under his belt, was one of the most valuable players in the Red Sox roster this year on WAR alone. Houck won all three of his games, and had a 0.58 ERA, with 21 Ks and a 0.882 WHIP. The translation here- Tanner Houck is not only the real deal, but he might be one of the most dangerous pitchers in baseball if these numbers indicate future stats. 

2021 Prediction: AL Rookie of the Year, 3rd in Cy Young voting, 15 wins and 200 Ks. Get ready, AL East. 

One more round of applause for Matt Klentak. Thanks to him, the Phillies had two relievers that didn't do shit and won't stick around, and the Red Sox got a potential future catcher in Deivy Grullon and Nick Pivetta, who looked cooked for the Phils then SUDDENLY SPRUNG TO LIFE IN BOSTON, winning both his starts, with a 1.80 ERA and 13 Ks. He and Houck suddenly made the Sox' rotation look pretty accomplished in late September, and led to the Sox winning 5 of their last 7 games of the season. so...THAAAANKS MATT.

2021 Prediction: The bubble pops slightly, and Pivetta slowly returns to his old self, but not without a few choice classic moments. 

Coming Tomorrow- A bright spot in the 2020 season was the Cincinnati Reds, while still being a generally fun and feel-good team, making the playoffs. Which means, for the second year in a row, I have a lot of Reds left to post.