Sox on the Run

 

    Now, there's more season to be played and all, but at the current moment it does look like my 'Red Sox will have this division comfortably' prediction may have been slightly inaccurate.

Not that this team isn't good. The core of Bogaerts, Devers, Martinez and Verdugo is still an excellent one, with all four still seeming like essential pieces. I still think Devers is one of those insane talents that don't come around often, and though he's still on his way up this year [he's only hitting .265 so far], I still think some insane production is coming. And in the absence of big guns like Chris Sale, David Price and Eduardo Rodriguez, we still have Nate Eovaldi, Tanner Houck and, surprisingly, Michael Wacha, providing great starting power. 

The main issue, though, is that both the depth this team has promised for so long and the extensive contract work they've done in recent years is not working right now. They are being drained from above and below, and all that's left is the middle right now.

Concerning the top, uh...Trevor Story, best known for being a contact hitting, defensively-inclined big bat...isn't doing well at any of those things. He's hitting .230, only has 4 RBIs and has yet to hit a homer as a Red Sock, and his defense has been average so far. None of the extreme upsides the Rockies enjoyed have really showed up yet. Maybe it's the unfamiliarity of the 2nd base position, maybe it's a new city to acclimate to, it could be a lot of things. Or maybe it's not just Story- Enrique Hernandez, snatched last year from LA, isn't hitting either. And this is after a huge season from him, too. 

And as for the bottom up, well Bobby Dalbec still isn't hitting, and his sole homer of the season so far amounts to 1 of his 2 current RBIs. The farm system is so diluted right now that the only people being called up are minor league hangers-on like Rob Refsnyder and Connor Wong. And the only two players placed on the 'Unvax'd and Unable to Play in Toronto' list, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck, are both farm products. I'd say they should call-up South Jersey hero Jay Groome, but considering how mediocre he's been in the minors recently, would that be any different? 

All that's really left to succeed right now for the Sox are the stars who have been established as viable options in the last several seasons. Which is good, as this team's core is up there with anyone's, but...without the substantial depth, which a lot of the AL East competitors do have, are they really a match?

Coming Tonight: Right now, the best starting pitcher in Atlanta is not Max Fried, or Mike Soroka, or Charlie Morton, or Huascar Ynoa, or Ian Anderson, or even rookie Bryce Elder. And it's kinda cool who it's ended up being.