The rise of Devers has been quick and out of nowhere. He has gone from a subpar defensive player that didn’t show too many signs of improvement, to a potential All-Star in 2019.
What has changed so much in such a short amount of time for the young third baseman? Devers has learned how to slow down his at-bats. He has a pre at bat ritual to the likes of J.D. Martinez, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in an almost meditative state. As he steps into the box, he is laser focused.
At the beginning of the season, Devers looked to be on pace for another 2018-like year. He was batting .230 in September and October of last year, but showed flashes of excellence in the postseason.
However, since May began, Devers has started to rake. He is batting .355 with seven home runs and 23 RBI. At just 22 years old, Devers has become the second youngest player in Red Sox history to hit for an extra base in eight straight games, a streak that ended on Wednesday against the Indians. Devers ranks fifth in hits with 69, ninth in batting average with a .325, and is leading the majors with 91-one hits of an exit velocity of 95+ miles per hour. Devers has been on an absolute tear this month and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Oh, did I mention that Devers is only twenty-two?
What we are seeing this year is a totally transformed and more mature version of Devers. It’s hard to believe that one year can make this much of a difference, but in the time since last season Devers has conquered a lot, and so has the coaching staff.
Last year, Devers was still learning much of the English language and a lot of the translation from hitting coach Tim Hyers was going through Andy Barkett for translation. Couple the translation with the attitude of a young 21-year-old kid and you end up with a lot of frustration on Devers’ end.
Fast forward to this year and Devers no longer needs Barkett to act as a translator, most of the time, and can move on and learn when things are not going well. Simply put, he no longer is dwelling on his shortcomings.
Devers is improving his defense at third base too. Although he has nine errors on the season, it’s easy to tell how much his footwork and thought process has improved since last year. His glove work is much more smooth and each play is more thought out on his end.
There is still room for improvement, but it seems now that Devers is more open to the improvement of his own game now more than ever. He is at an exciting stage in his career, and as fans it is going to be fun to see how much he progresses over the next year.
