Grades by position to date

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, notin said:

Weird.  Hes the deepest analytics guy on here…

MVP does watch the games, though.

[mvp 78]

21 hours ago, notin said:

Oh god.  You’re getting data from a Floridian!?!?

Rafaela started off the season with a down season in CF (late reads, some misplays on balls), but has been back to normal this month. 

People in the free state of Florida gather LOTS of data. It's what they tend to do with it that can be the problem. 

[mvp 78]

20 hours ago, Old Red said:

It’s by default. He’s the only one I trust on here.🤫

Thank you? I guess? 😵‍💫

[mvp 78]

14 hours ago, notin said:

Weird.  Hes the deepest analytics guy on here…

Must be the kiddie pool here! Thank you for the compliment. 

[mvp 78]

12 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

MVP does watch the games, though.

Now that girls softball is over, I should be able to watch more as long as they are not trying to inflict psychic damage on me. 

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Rafaela started off the season with a down season in CF (late reads, some misplays on balls), but has been back to normal this month. 

As is often the case, people see the early numbers and pre determine a player's season based on it.

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

As is often the case, people see the early numbers and pre determine a player's season based on it.

Yes, Rafaela WAS playing bad defense early on. It did lead to losses (there's a game where he lost a ball in the sun when the glasses were sitting on his hat)! He is playing much better now! 

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Yes, Rafaela WAS playing bad defense early on. It did lead to losses (there's a game where he lost a ball in the sun when the glasses were sitting on his hat)! He is playing much better now! 

Indeed. He has put himself back on top in CF DRS and will likely win the 2026 GG.

His batting has been more consistent, while he continues to improve on his BB% and OBP over his career.

He used to be historically awful on his BB/K rate. He's still near the bottom 15%, but his .29 is better than Duran & Devers.

[JoeBrady]

On 5/30/2026 at 1:52 PM, moonslav59 said:

I don't hear the IKF bashing anymore.

I wish we could say the same about Durbin. 3 for his last 8 is not even a drop in the bucket as .479 to .505 is hardly Wow-worthy.

That's why these early-seasons polls are worthless. 

• Our rotation (B-), including Bello as an SP, over the past 28 days is probably the best in BB.
• Ceddanne (C+) should be on the AS team.
• Duran (F) is #10 in fWAR in May.

[moonslav59]

May should not be viewed as more important than April- not that you were even implying that- but if it is a sign of a continuing trend, it can be a source of optimism on some players, especially Duran & IKF.

To me, Rafaela looks like a complete player, now. I realize he may slump at any time and fall back to .700 or even below, but I see him as a .725+ batter over the long haul. With that superb defense, he's a big plus and a solid block to the team's foundation. I know Fred disagrees, but it looks that way to me.

Contreras has been the biggest reason our offense is not the worst in all of MLB. He was a great addition. At his age, decline could start, at any moment, but he looks sharp on O and D.

Duran and Abreu might hold the keys to the season. Right now, they are headed in different directions, but I think Wilyer will come around. That's really the only 4 guys I fully trust as everyday players.

We can hope Anthony returns and plays like 2025 not 2026, although that OBP was nice.

We can hope Narvaez or Durbin bats more like 2025, but counting on it seems highly speculative.

We can hope for Yoshida or Mayer to step up, but hope is not a good strategy or plan.

We will need to add a couple pen pieces at the deadline, and of course a big bat to have any chance, but I'm not sure we will be buyers in July.

[notin]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Yes, Rafaela WAS playing bad defense early on. It did lead to losses (there's a game where he lost a ball in the sun when the glasses were sitting on his hat)! He is playing much better now! 

He sits at or among the top in most defensive metrics.  Even the best fielders do make the occasional bad play…

[moonslav59]

26 minutes ago, notin said:

He sits at or among the top in most defensive metrics.  Even the best fielders do make the occasional bad play…

And since he made a few early in the season, and it was widely reported, the casual fan who only looks at high/lowlights and boxscores comes to the wrong conclusions.

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, notin said:

He sits at or among the top in most defensive metrics.  Even the best fielders do make the occasional bad play…

He was getting consistent late jumps early on, not just occasional bad plays.

[JoeBrady]

7 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Duran and Abreu might hold the keys to the season.

Guys like that generally wind up pretty close to where they are expected to be.  Pitching is different, but the hitters that are key are the ones with more variance.  That's usually the oldest and youngest players.  Anthony, Mayer, Durbin and Narvaez.  Story would've been included, because of his age, but age might've already taken care of that.

[Old Red]

20 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Yes, Rafaela WAS playing bad defense early on. It did lead to losses (there's a game where he lost a ball in the sun when the glasses were sitting on his hat)! He is playing much better now! 

Yes playing bad D that led to early losses, which all counts, and catching everything in sight now doesn’t change that.

[Old Red]

18 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

And since he made a few early in the season, and it was widely reported, the casual fan who only looks at high/lowlights and boxscores comes to the wrong conclusions.

And you say you watch every game, and you still come to a lot of Wrong conclusions, so what’s your excuse?if It was widely reported then I guess it was more than just highlights, and box scores.🙈

[mvp 78]

20 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

That's why these early-seasons polls are worthless. 

• Our rotation (B-), including Bello as an SP, over the past 28 days is probably the best in BB.
• Ceddanne (C+) should be on the AS team.
• Duran (F) is #10 in fWAR in May.

They aren't worthless. They are just a snapshot of a point in time. Things change. It wasn't meant to be a season grade, but a YTD grade just like the title says. 

[Deja Doh]

Contreras is tied for 47th in total bases.  He's a liability on defense (he's a catcher playing 1st)..  Defensively he looks like Devers when he played third (but cheaper).  I get grade inflation is a thing, but I still don't quite see a B and certainly not an A.

I'll stick with a C for Rafaela.  He's been a lot more patient at the plate (which have reduced his power numbers from last years free swinging ABs).  

The only A on the team is Chapman.  

 

 

 

On 5/30/2026 at 9:48 AM, moonslav59 said:

The Sox have the 6th best 1B fWAR, and Contreras is 4th or 5th in OPS and 4th or 5th on defense. That's not C+.

Rafaela in CF is better than you think.

 

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, Deja Doh said:

Contreras is tied for 47th in total bases.  He's a liability on defense (he's a catcher playing 1st).. 

Is this a joke post? 

 

[Old Red]

20 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

They aren't worthless. They are just a snapshot of a point in time. Things change. It wasn't meant to be a season grade, but a YTD grade just like the title says. 

Agree, and some on here just don’t comprehend that fans analyze the here, and now. Stats start counting in March just as the W-L starts counting in March. Stats in March-April go  into making the winning, and losing in March-April, which counts the same as any other time of the season.  Nothing is to early IMO.

[Old Red]

12 minutes ago, Deja Doh said:

Contreras is tied for 47th in total bases.  He's a liability on defense (he's a catcher playing 1st)..  Defensively he looks like Devers when he played third (but cheaper).  I get grade inflation is a thing, but I still don't quite see a B and certainly not an A.

I'll stick with a C for Rafaela.  He's been a lot more patient at the plate (which have reduced his power numbers from last years free swinging ABs).  

The only A on the team is Chapman.  

 

 

 

 

Con Man is tied with Raffy, and Alonso for TB.

[drewski6]

50 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Agree, and some on here just don’t comprehend that fans analyze the here, and now. Stats start counting in March just as the W-L starts counting in March. Stats in March-April go  into making the winning, and losing in March-April, which counts the same as any other time of the season.  Nothing is to early IMO.

More than anything , its just shout you down optimism.  The people screaming sample size over the poor start wouldnt be screaming sample size if we were in first.  Its just excuse making for a joke of a front office.

[Old Red]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

More than anything , its just shout you down optimism.  The people screaming sample size over the poor start wouldnt be screaming sample size if we were in first.  Its just excuse making for a joke of a front office.

I like to go day to day myself, because they all count, and add up. If the Red Sox win on opening day they are 1-0, and if they lose they are 0-1. If a player hits 2 homers on opening day then great, but if he goes 0-4 with 4 K’S then he sucks. They all count, and they all add up, and then you see where you stand at the end, and how things add up. Nothing is to early though, or to short.

[moonslav59]

20 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

He was getting consistent late jumps early on, not just occasional bad plays.

Yes, early on. It was discussed quite a bit on this site, that his defense was worse. I don't think anyone disagreed.

He's improved greatly and has played plus-plus for a much longer time, hence he is now the leader in DRS and near the top in OAA.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Is this a joke post? 

 

Wonder how many of the others on that list turn a better 3-6-3 DP than WiLL. 

He's certainly the best we've ever seen in Friday green (here's my stat: those shirts are only two years old).

[notin]

20 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

He was getting consistent late jumps early on, not just occasional bad plays.

You might call those jumps late.  But to others they were fashionable…

[moonslav59]

42 minutes ago, notin said:

You might call those jumps late.  But to others they were fashionable…

LOL

[mvp 78]

43 minutes ago, notin said:

You might call those jumps late.  But to others they were fashionable…

He's always fashionable out there. 

[mvp 78]

49 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Wonder how many of the others on that list turn a better 3-6-3 DP than WiLL. 

He's certainly the best we've ever seen in Friday green (here's my stat: those shirts are only two years old).

He's Mike Napoli's bat with Mitch Moreland's glove.

[moonslav59]

49 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He's always fashionable out there. 

Even more than JBJ was