Now that the Mookie Betts saga is over and done with, there’s a new sheriff in town as the Red Sox’ best player: Rafael Devers.
Devers broke out in 2019, posting career-highs across the board. Overall, he slashed .311/.361/.555 with a .377 wOBA and a wRC+ of 132. On top of that, he was able to rate as a plus-defender for the first time in his major league career.
Furthermore, being just 23 years old, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to think that Devers can build off of 2019 and blossom even further into a superstar for the Red Sox in 2020.
Many will be quick to point to J.D. Martinez or Xander Bogaerts and call one of them the best player on the Red Sox, but they both only flourish on one side of the ball.
Martinez has been the much-needed thump in the middle of the Red Sox’ lineup for the past two seasons, slashing .317/.392/.593 with a .407 wOBA. He’s also hit 79 home runs and 70 doubles and has driven in a team-best 235 runs. On top of that, his attention to detail and professionalism is like none other.
You could also argue that he was just as instrumental as a hitting coach, even though the official coaches were Tim Hyers and Andy Barkett (assistant).
However, Martinez only dominates one aspect of the game: offense. There’s an entire element of the game that doesn’t involve J.D. Martinez and, when he’s out there, he rates as a below-average defender (three outs below average in 2019).
As for Bogaerts, he would make a ton of sense. Since David Ortiz left in 2016 and Dustin Pedroia has been injured the past two seasons, nobody has shouldered more responsibility than the Red Sox’ shortstop.
And he’s responded by churning out back-to-back career years in 2018 and 2019.
However, like J.D. Martinez, defense isn’t Bogaerts’s specialty. In 2019, Bogaerts posted a 0.8 UZR/150, but -14 defensive runs saved and three outs below average. While his OAA might indicate that Bogaerts isn’t as poor of a defender as his DRS would, he’s still not considered a plus-defender.
As for Devers, on top of his more than impressive rate stats, Devers was a completely different monster from the rest of the bunch.
His 252 batted ball events not only led the Red Sox (besting Boagerts by 35 and Martinez by 46), but also all of baseball. He also ranked third on the Red Sox in barrels on batted ball events (48) and third in barrels percentage (6.8 percent).
But what separates Devers from the other two is that Devers actually rated in the top 20 for infield defense last season.
It very well could be an anomaly, but Rafael Devers posted seven outs above average in 2019, which ranked tied for 19th amongst all qualifying infielders (fourth among third basemen).
Devers is 23 years old and not even close to his prime yet. He might not be the Red Sox’ best hitter yet, but he certainly is knocking on the door of superstardom. Couple that with his potentially emerging prowess as a defender and you’ve got a guy who is going to set the world on fire in 2020, taking over as the best player on the Boston Red Sox.
