After an exciting rookie debut for the Red Sox, Rafael Devers looks to take a step forward in his second season. He has the tools to be the kind of middle of the order bat opposing pitchers fear, But he has some ground to cover between here and there.
Red Sox Nation had been waiting years to see the next developed hitting phenom arrive at Fenway. He did not disappoint and while he has a long way to go, Rafael Devers may be the best hitter on the Boston Red Sox… eventually.
His rookie season, shortened though it was, gave us something that we’ve never actually seen before.
No player aged 20 or younger with 250 or fewer plate appearances has ever hit ten home runs. That he hit eight of those in his first 20 (out of 58) games is merely remarkable. It is also the record for the most home runs by a player under 21 over that many games.
Those of you of discerning minds will likely be asking if that means anything. And you’d be right to do so. Esoteric stats are part of what makes baseball so much fun to follow. But often times we drill so far down into the criteria that we lose predictive value. So what can we take from Devers’ 2017 season?
His Rookie Season Still Puts Him In Rare Company:
We can alter our criteria to just players aged 20 or younger who posted a 110 OPS+ or better with at least 10 home runs as rookies. That leaves us with 14 players:
Devers had the fewest games played on the list, and there’s no guarantee he’d have maintained that pace all season. The fact remains that what he did do with the time that he had was incredibly rare.
If we were to extrapolate his season over 600 plate appearances, he would have 25 home runs, 35 doubles, 158 hits, 45 walks and 143 strikeouts.
He would have ranked third in home runs and doubles and fourth in hits on the above list.