Boston Red Sox: 2017 season review and offseason preview
What Went Right
Right fielder Mookie Betts wasn’t the top-tier MVP candidate he’d been in 2016, but he was still the best position player on the Red Sox and one of the 10 best players in the AL. One of the culprits in his decrease in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage was a .268 Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP). A player with Betts’ speed should have a higher BABIP. His career mark is .303. Expect a rebound in 2018.
Another player who was not as valuable as he’d been in 2016, but was still valuable, was Xander Bogearts. The 24-year-old shortstop saw an across-the-board drop in his triple-slash numbers (.273/.343/.403 this year) and a big reduction in home runs, from 21 to 10, but was solid on defense. He was second on the team with 3.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR, per Fangraphs).
In a world without Aaron Judge, Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi would be in a battle with a handful of others for the AL Rookie of the Year Award. None of them came close to Judge, but Benintendi, Matt Chapman, Mitch Haniger, and Matt Olson were among the best rookies in the league this season. Benintendi had a 20-20 season and drove in 90 runs.
Another young player who had an impressive debut was 20-year-old third baseman Rafael Devers. The baby-faced kid hit .284/.338/.482, with 10 homers in 58 games. Devers was really on fire when he first joined the team in late July, but struggled down the stretch. He hit .364/.424/.727 in his first 20 big league games and .241/.290/.352 in his next 38 games. He came around in the playoffs, leading the team with two home runs and tying with Jackie Bradley, Jr. for the team lead in RBI, with five. In the series, he became the youngest Red Sox player to hit a postseason home run.
The top new Red Sox player was starting pitcher Chris Sale, who had the best season of his career. He tied his career-high in wins, with 17, and had an ERA under 3.00 for only the second time since becoming a starting pitcher with the White Sox in 2012. He also became the first AL pitcher to strike out 300 batters since former Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez did it in 1999.
Another starting pitcher who fared well was Drew Pomeranz. He was 17-6 with a 3.32 ERA (3.84 FIP) in 32 starts. It was good to see Pomeranz bounce back from a rough half-season with the Red Sox after he was acquired in a mid-season trade in 2016 (3-5, 4.59 ERA). On a staff with David Price making $30 million and Rick Porcello making $21 million, Pomeranz will be a relative bargain next season.
The bullpen was led by a phenomenal Craig Kimbrel, who saved 35 games with a 1.43 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 69 innings. His 49.6 percent strikeout rate was the best in baseball and the third-highest strikeout rate ever for a relief pitcher with 30 or more innings in a season. Only Aroldis Chapman (52.5 percent) in 2014 and Kimbrel himself (50.2 percent) in 2012 have struck out batters at a higher rate.