The Boston Red Sox have been more competitive than expected, with a 21-19 record and a solid +33 run differential. That’s good enough for third place in the tough AL East and it’s been surprising, to say the least. Of course, when you have a slugger of Rafael Devers’ caliber, anything can happen.
Devers had been a bit cold to open the year and then had to deal with an injury problem. Once he got past that, he started to come around at the plate and is now on fire. MLB Network tweeted, “Rafael Devers has gotten hot since returning from a bone bruise on April 24. First 13 games: .188 AVG, 5 XBH, .328 OBP, .375 SLG. Last 16 games: .367 AVG, 8 XBH, .457 OBP, .567 SLG.”
We all knew that Devers wouldn’t hit lower than .200 for long. He is just too talented and accomplished to be stuck with those numbers. Now that he feels close to 100 percent, you can expect the power numbers to soar: we are talking about a guy whose career-high in dingers is 38 and is still 27 years old.
With surprisingly solid pitching and a slugger like Devers, not to mention a top manager in Alex Cora, you can be sure the Red Sox won’t go away easily in the hunt for a playoff spot.
