The 2016 baseball season has reached its halfway point, and which means it’s a good time to reflect on how the Boston Red Sox have fared thus far. It hasn’t always been pretty, and the Sox barely escaped the month of June, but things could be worse down on Yawkey Way. That said, let’s take a look at some of the defining aspects of Boston’s first half. What came back on the Red Sox 2016 midseason report card?
Red Sox 2016 Midseason Report
Biggest Surprise
Jackie Bradley, Jr.‘s offensive renaissance would fit here, and so too would the unexpected surge from Sandy Leon, but the consistency of Steven Wright takes it. Wright showed flashes of his ability last season in spot starts and bullpen appearances. Still, nobody knew how he would fare as a full time member of the rotation. The knuckleball is just too unpredictable to be relied upon. At least, that’s what we all thought. Even the great Tim Wakefield famously, and often, said he had little idea where his knucklers would end up.
Wright has rewritten that narrative, to say the least. A unique way of gripping his knuckleball gives him unparalleled control of the pitch, and he uses an accurate fastball to set it up. He’s ridden his success to his first All-Star appearance, and could very well garner some consideration for the AL Cy Young Award if he keeps it up. The 31-year-old, who barely made the rotation as the fifth starter out of Spring Training, has easily been Boston’s most consistent rotation arm, and it’s not hard to imagine where Boston might be without him.
Biggest Disappointment
Honestly, this could probably go to any pitcher not named Steven Wright or Heath Hembree. However, David Price stands out. Price hasn’t been the Red Sox worst pitcher this season by any means. Far from it, in fact. And after a rough start to the season, he’s been slowly improving. But he’s yet to find real consistency, and he has by no means been the ace the Red Sox brought him in to be.
Price has looked dominant at times, and stills sits among the top pitchers in the league in terms of total strikeouts. However, he hasn’t at any point looked like the pitcher that won the AL Cy Young award just a few years ago. If the Red Sox are truly going to contend for a World Series title this season, they will need Price to live up to his massive contract.
Midseason MVP
Mookie Betts has a strong case for this honor, as do Wright and David Ortiz. Even still, the award easily belongs to shortstop Xander Bogaerts. He’s among the top-five hitters in the American League in hits, runs scored, batting average, and on-base percentage, and is in the top-ten in doubles. And he’s done it all while playing very solid defense at shortstop.
It’s odd, but Bogaerts’ success has come very quietly, without much fanfare or national media recognition. He doesn’t draw attention to himself; he goes to work every day just like any other player. But at this point, he’s more than earned some props. When he first broke into the big leagues, Bogaerts had two holes in his game: defense and power. Since then, he’s filled both nicely. Not only is he now a very good defensive shortstop, but his power has finally arrived. He already has more home runs this year than he had all of last season. If he keeps hitting like this all year, he’ll be in the running for AL MVP come season’s end.
What to Watch For in the Second Half
If the offense keeps rolling, the Red Sox should at least be a Wild Card team. Slumps and quiet games will happen, but there’s little reason to think this team won’t keep hitting down the stretch. In the end, this team’s fate will be decided on the mound. Boston can make the playoffs with the arms it has now, but won’t truly contend without some help.
Part of that has to come from within the organization. Price needs to start pitching like David Price, and Eduardo Rodriguez needs to work out whatever kinks he’s dealing with. Boston will need both at their best come August and September.
However, the rotation is in dire need of a true upgrade. Whether that means trading for another ace, such as Gerrit Cole of the Pittsburgh Pirates, or for someone to hold down the back end, like Rich Hill of the Oakland Athletics, remains to be seen. Look for General Manager Dave Dombrowski to be busy at the July 31 trade deadline. Boston has the pieces in its minor league system to acquire any pitcher it wants. But if Price and Rodriguez can figure it out, Boston might feel comfortable picking up a less expensive pitcher and saving its farmhands for the future.
Fans should also keep an eye on Double-A Portland, as top prospects Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada continue pushing for call-ups in September.
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