When a roster is loaded with star-power, there tend to be catchy nicknames that cluster in with the bunch.
For example, when a lot of the star-power have a last name that starts with the same letter—like Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, and Xander Bogaerts—the nickname naturally gravitated to ‘The Killer B’s.’ While every one of them have impacted the roster and the overall success of the Red Sox in their own respective ways, there have been some who have been more consistent than others. Here are the latest power rankings for the Red Sox ‘Killer B’s.’
4. Andrew Benintendi
While Benintendi finished second in the Final Vote for AL All-Star, he still places fourth on the list.
Yes, the second year player has had a breakout year for the Boston Red Sox, being a near .300 hitter for much of the second half of the season. He’s settled in perfectly as the hitter sandwiched between leadoff-man, Mookie Betts, and All-Star teammate, Mitch Moreland. Benintendi brings the consistency on offense and defense every single night that you hope you can get out of a young player in Boston.
However, he doesn’t really do as much to really “WOW” you on a nightly basis and with some of the performances of his counterparts, Benintendi has really fallen into the shadows and become an underrated fixture in the lineup.
3. Xander Bogaerts
Even with this recent hot streak that Bogaerts has been on— he has a .317 average in August—he still only places third in the power rankings.
Having watched Bogaerts perform on a nightly basis this year has been an absolute blessing. His defense has improved mightily and he just seems to be more comfortable at the plate this year than in the past few seasons at this stage.
Bogaerts is coming off of a series against the Cleveland Indians where he drove in runs in each game, including three runs on two homers. As a result, he enters the Tampa Bay series with a .282 average, to go with 19 home runs and 82 RBI in 107 games. The home run and RBI production have already exceeded his total of 10 and 62 respectively from 2017, and there’s still a little over a month to go in the season.
He’s been clutch all year, but his value just isn’t quite as important as the two guys ranked ahead of him.
2. Jackie Bradley Jr.
It’s hard to believe that some people, myself included, wanted Jackie Bradley to either be traded, optioned, or just flat out benched at various points during the season.
The University of South Carolina product is in his sixth year of his major league career, and has still yet to get over the hump on the offensive side of the game. He’s shown glimpses of being a gifted hitter, with gap power to all fields, but he’s just never been able to consistently put it together for a full 162.
However, kind of lost in the limelight of his recent consistency at the plate has been Bradley’s lights out defense in center field on a nightly basis. The 28-year-old has almost made it part of the nightly program that he will either made a ridiculous catch in the gap, or throw a strike to cut down a man trying to gain an extra base.
On top of that, over his last 22 games, Bradley Jr. is hitting .278 with 11 extra-base hits and 10 RBI. Following the Indians series, he has his average at .225 for the season for the first time since the beginning stages.
His offensive and defensive value every night has him ranked as the number two ‘Killer B’ on the Red Sox roster.
1. Mookie Betts
Who else but the American League MVP front-runner? Mookie Betts has recently hit a cold stretch, yet still finds his batting average over .340 for the season.
He’s already surpassed his home run total for the 2017 season, as he has drilled 27 in just 109 games. Betts also has an OPS of 1.064 this year, which is absolutely off the charts for a leadoff hitter in today’s game.
The value of Betts strays further than just his offensive numbers—Betts also is one of the most gifted defenders in baseball. To go on top of that, he’s doing that in right field at Fenway Park, which is one of the toughest positions to play effectively in the majors. Having been the player’s choice as the best defensive player in baseball in 2017, Betts has followed that up with another strong season in right field for the Boston Red Sox in 2018.
His versatility has also been tested this season, as we’ve seen Mookie Betts have to play second base for the first time since 2015, where he actually played pretty well for the five innings he was there.
The Red Sox have been gifted with a magical season in 2018, winning their 90th game before any other team has reached their 80th. However, thanks to the aforementioned players, this season has just been even more special. It’s truly been a pleasure watching this team get after it every night, and only time will tell how they fair in October this season.
