JBJ had higher DRS in 2014, the same DRS in 2016 and 17 but with higher OAA. After this year, Kiké's 2021 may be the 5th best CF season for the Sox since Lynn left.
It's why Coco Crap was diving for things that were barely in the gap that JBJ would have had while on his feet. JBJ was smooth as hell. Rafaela has a little bit of those instincts and has only played the OF since 2021. In the DSL/GCL, he was a MIFer only. He's just going to get better from here on out.
They basically swapped Fernandez for Slaten in Rule 5. We'll see how well Fernandez does for STL. So far, he only has one appearance (1 IP, 3 K, 1 H, 1 BB).
And there's still room for improvement at 2B when Grissom takes over. Valdez is absolutely brutal over there. If Grissom could be average, it would make a big difference for this ballclub.
SoxProspects just updated their rankings.
Notable Risers
Yoeilin Cespedes up from 10 to 6
Blaze Jordan up from 20 to 16
Justin Slaten up from 25 to 20
Elmer Rodriguez up from 26 to 21
Kristian Campbell up from 47 to 22
Franklin Arias up from 32 to 25
Grant Gambrell up from 37 to 32
Nick Sogard up from 53 to 41
Notable Fallers
Nick Yorke from 6 to 11
Mikey Romero from 19 to 27
David Hamilton from 22 to 30
Bryan Mata from 29 to 40
Brooks Brannon from 36 to 43
Brandon Walter from 36 to 43
Jedixson Paez from 40 to 48
Natanael Yuten from 44 to 51
@SoxNotes
The Red Sox’ 1.54 ERA is their lowest through 7 games in the Live Ball Era (1920-present).
The Sox have allowed 4 runs or fewer in each of their 7 games (4, 1, 4, 1, 0, 4, 0).
@JeffPassan
Right-hander Eury Perez, one of the best pitching prospects in recent years, will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2024 season, per the Marlins. In a year of awful pitching injuries, this is among the worst: a 20-year-old handled with immense care still gets hurt.
The only reason Stripling had lower bWAR in '22 is because he pitched a few games out of the pen.
Higher ERA+ than Bello ever had. WHIP was lower. Better SO/W. Lower BB rate.
To me, Memorial Day has always been a good cutoff to know if your team is good or not. At that point, any GM should know where the gaps are. Anyone waiting until the deadline is foolish.