Originally Posted by
jacksonianmarch
On to the lineup
At C- you have depth here, the quality is a bit suspect. Vazquez had a good year offensively, but that came with a BABIP of .348. Can he repeat that? Who knows. Leon is a replacement level guy who at least holds his own defensively
At 1B- Right now, it is Sam Travis. And I know you guys seem to have a soft spot in your hearts for this kid, but he isn't very good. He turns 25 in 2018 and in 4 seasons in the minors and majors, he has a total of 28HR. Now 7HR a season isn't bad if you are a 2b or a speed demon, but he is neither. His lack of power out of the 1b spot makes him a nice story, but not a useful big league player. Hanley could slot here as well, but he is coming off bilateral shoulder surgeries. Who knows how he returns. Devers could also slide over if the sox acquire a top notch 3b. I anticipate the starting 1b for the Red Sox for 2018 is not currently on the roster
At 2B- Pedroia would be the starter, but he had microfracture surgery, a last ditch effort to halt or reverse an arthritic condition developing in his knee. I'd say he is staring at an all-star break return and if he comes back earlier, good for him. He was also trending downward as the season wore on, so you don't know if you will get replacement level Pedroia or All Star level. Either way, 2b depth will be incredibly key out of the gate. Behind Pedroia eventually could be Michael Chavis, but the idea of him starting 2018 off position in Boston is more a fantasy than anything else. He is really a CIF and you'll lose a lot defensively with him at 2b. Also, he didn't exactly light the world on fire in AA and is probably ticketed there again in 2018 until he earns the promotion to AAA. He could be an option later in the season, but not here. Brock Holt is an option as well, but I think he has settled down into what he is, a replacement level guy who plays hard, gets hurt, and can play a lot of position. That is useful, but if he is suiting up at 2b on a regular basis, that will not be good news for you guys. Lin and Martinez are in the equation as well, but none appear to be plus replacement level players
At SS- Do you know that Xander Bogaerts led the team in hitting at .273? Xander is an enigma. He has the power to hit 25HR, but he can't consistently show it. He has the ability to hit .300, but he cannot do it regularly. One wonders if he will ever put it together and have a .300 25HR 100RBI type season everyone was pegging him for when he came up. The talent is there. Until then, sox fans need to give him a break. He has 12.5 WAR over the past 3 seasons. While he might not be reaching the sky high expectations placed on him, he has been damn good and damn durable. 144+ games for 4 seasons in a row. You could certainly do worse
At 3B- Devers is the new kid on the block. His defense is suspect, but that bat is beautiful. Long term, he is a 1b, but if they can just make him average defensively for now, he will be a monster. Unless you find yourself signing Frazier or Moustakas, you pencil in Devers name and sit back and watch this kid hit
In LF- Andrew Benintendi wins the ROY most seasons with the year he had. 20/20 season, average OF defense, and by the end of the year, he was the offensive leader of that team. I don't move him to CF since I don't think he is a CFer long term, but he is a really good player who I think will be a .300 hitter with 25HR power and 25 steal potential. Pencil him in and let him fly
In CF- JBJ, the oft maligned and never truly appreciated CFer is a defensive wizard. He is typically healthy, albeit often platooned. His defense never wavers, his offense is incredibly streaky. For now, you play him in the OF and just live with it.
In RF- Mookie Betts proved he wasn't ready to be the man in the lineup, but he is still a great player. His defense grades out better than Bradley's eerily enough. He also has put up 18.1 WAR in his 3 seasons in the bigs. That is awesome. He has also played 145 games or more in all 3 seasons. Anyone considering moving him is an idiot.
At DH- Right now it is Hanley. He is coming off shoulder surgery on both shoulder and he is on the wrong side of 30. You don't know how he will respond. He has a good chance of being either the 1b or the DH and in the end, might end up in a platoon role. Either way, right now there is no way he isn't in the lineup
Reserves: In the OF, you have Bryce Brentz. He has power, but is very hit or miss and hasn't proven anything in the bigs. Maybe he is ready? Maybe he takes on a bigger role as DH? Maybe he becomes the platoon partner JBJ needs? In the IF, Holt, Lin and to a lesser extent, Martinez are there. Neither are very strong options. You have 3 catchers if you count Swihart, but none really own the job. Either way, the starting lineup lacks big power and the backups don't help. After DD figures out the starters, he really needs to also sign some non roster invitees who could catch lightning in a bottle and claim a 25 man slot