He has a 787 OPS right now and a 289 AVG. This could be his peak. I think people are expecting a little too much out of his bat. He's been more than anyone on here expected. Saying that he needs to do even more than what he's currently doing is ridiculous.
Rafaela at 750 OPS has an insane amount of value. Anything above that is found money.
They have a decent offense and a good rotation. They didn't go through a tremendous slump like the Sox did at the start of the season. Are the Sox the better team right now? Maybe? The Rays were able to build a substantial division lead because they've just played well all year.
1. Will Alex be road tripping to the field of dreams game next season?
2. Rank who should have been booed the loudest in their return to Fenway: Manny, Damon, Raffy.
3. Rafaela is 3rd in AL bWAR and 5th in AL fWAR. Is he a legitimate MVP candidate?
Rafaeala Whiff %
24 9th percentile
25 34th percentile
26 43rd percentile
He's trending closer to average. Not quite there yet, but someday. It also shows the state of the game as to what an average hitter is TBH.
vs LHP 111 wRC+
vs RHP 96 wRC+
Seigler vs RHP 117 wRC+
I think it's more important they have a good LHB on the bench than two platoon RHB like Jones & White.
With Sogard, it's less about his skillset and more about his negative aura. The massive run the Sox went on was while Sogard was away from the team. He just looks like a create a player from MVP05. It probably rubs people the wrong way.