oldtimer

Our best hitter last year was Nunez and last I heard, he is back! I assume he will start the season hitting 3rd. I see the lineup batting order as starting in the first 6 positions pretty much as you show it. Betts Beni Nunez Martinez Devers Rameriz Vasquez will probably hit 7th or 8th so that leaves two spots. Bogey will play but will it be JBJ or Moreland as the final field player? I suggest the possibility that JBJ sits while Bogey bats last until he proves himself to be hitting again and Moreland bats 7th. Of course we could sit Moreland and play JBJ with Martinez at DH. Entirely possible, but then we have what were two very spotty hitters at the bottom of the lineup. Will Cora value offense or defense more?

Just for the record, i am including the red sox official scouting report Chavis hit his way into the first round of the 2014 Draft, winning the home run derby at the 2013 Perfect Game All-American Classic and batting .580 with 13 homers in 28 games as a high school senior. After signing for $1,870,500 as the 26th overall pick, he flashed some power but otherwise struggled his first two full years as a pro. He finally made some needed adjustments at the plate in 2017 and began to take off. Chavis has plenty of bat speed, strength and loft in his right-handed stroke, so he can hit home runs without selling out for power. He's at his best as a hitter when he keeps his swing under control and uses the whole field, and he has stopped trying to pull everything out of the park. He has made significant strides with his pitch recognition, two-strike approach and ability to handle breaking balls. A high school shortstop who became a full-time third baseman in instructional league after his pro debut, Chavis has improved with experience at the hot corner. He's not the rangiest third baseman but has a strong arm and should be at least an adequate defender. There are some scouts who think he could become a second baseman in the Dan Uggla mold.

Ian Brown's blog indicates the Sox lineup will be very hard to crack with his belief that Leon and Moreland are very likely to make the 25 man roster. He thinks that Swihart and Holt are the most likely to be the two others due to their versatility. He did name his dark horses and Marrero and Hernandez. It will no doubt come down to performance in spring training. The longer term roadmap may require us to develop Pitching internally with Groome the obvious and most likely candidate. We also no doubt would like to develop some candidates for up the middle play. One of those could be Chavis. So far they haven't looked at 2nd for him but instead third where he is blocked. I believe Chatham is a low power SS but haven't checked on him lately. Ockimey has some pop but isn't from my understanding a top athlete so not an up the middle prospect. Brannen is a potential CF who is at least a year away. Great athlete with a lot to prove at the plate and will only turn 20 during the year. Needs to add strength and pop. Maybe we can trade some of our utility players for pitching prospects or other prospect we can see a need for in the pig picture road map you speak of. As Ian Browne has said in his blog, our lineup and 25 man roster will be difficult to crack this year so some of our utility guys are likely to be totally blocked. Possibly even some of our top prospects such as at first base or the outfield. We definitely need Bogaerts this year and the hope is that he can raise his performance level to something approaching the promise he has shown in the past. If not, do we go after a major FA next year?

The next big questions for the Sox is who makes the 25 man roster, who makes the 40 man roster, who is sent back to AAA and who is traded or lost. Pedey will start on the DL but we have at least 10 field players in addition to Pedey, not counting a backup catcher. Those decisions don't have to be made until later in March. Will we trade a meaningful player or stand pat?

The manager should have insights that are not available to ordinary or even clued in fans. Slight injuries, fatigue, lack of confidence and a host of other insights are going to shape the managers decision. In general, we can form ideas based on stats or eye tests, but the manager and his coaches know more and it is the results which determine if they are doing a good job.

Just look at the Sox official site under the top prospects and you find he is 9th overall and is 5th if you remove the pitching prospects. He is highly rated for speed and fielding but needs work on hitting. He was about 6' tall and about 170 last season. I expect him to add some muscle and gain power this year, kind of similar to what Beni has done. He is a guy to keep our eye on, particularly if JBJ flames out or is traded.

If Hanley gets hot and needs to be played more ABs than expected, then what. Nunez was our best hitter last year and JDM needs to be in the lineup as much as he can stand.

Didn't see it , thanks.

Cole Brannen is the fifth best no pitching prospect in the minors and is the best outfield up the middle prospect. He has the fielding to be good and with a season of improved hitting he is likely to jump into the top 3 fielding prospects. I am looking for this kid to be in the Rwed Sox fairly near future.

I agree that Bogey will not be traded at this juncture as we still need a competent SS. His hitting could return to a much higher level, especially if he gets some better coaching and takes it seriously. My view is we trade away some of our extra utility players and possibly JBJ if a deal for a decent pitcher could be worked out. Brannen is a year away from the club provided he shows he can hit ML pitching. He is at least a hope for an up the middle outfielder in future. Trying to predict a Batting Order with our talent does raise the question of who gets left out. My first attempt is as follows: Betts (RF) Beni (CF) Nunez/Pedey (2nd) Martinez (LF) Devers (3rd) Rameriz (DH) Moreland (1st) Vasquez © Bogey (SS) That one example leaves JBJ out so I am certain others will see things in many other ways, but if Hanley is hitting early on it makes for a formidable lineup. The loss would be in outfield defense. This example also accounts for 11 field players including 2 catchers and DH. The question also posed by it is who are the two other utility players to keep with the 25 man roster.

The places where JDM fit are LF and DH. Nunez is also on our roster so some of our utility needs , including LF and 2nd base are filled. So first base, DH, LF, DH and utility backup all have a logjam. With Moreland and Rameriz sharing 1st base and Rameriz normally the DH then you might look for and outfielder to be traded. Would that be JBJ? Rameriz trade value is not good. Maybe we could shed a part of his contract and by doing that install Martinez as DH, but does that really make sense to get so little in return for Rameriz? My view is we trade some of our utility players and probably JBJ will go as he still has reasonable trade value. That would put Martinez in Left, Beni in center and Betts in right with Nunez being a super utility player. If he hits like last year can he be kept out of the lineup? Have to assume Pedey will come back and start at least by the end of May or June. Interesting thought is how do you keep Nunez out of the lineup if he hits as well as last year?

I expected JDM to sign this week since Hoz has now signed. He can bring a much needed power bat to the lineup but I have also believed that our change of management and coaching will have an impact on our approach to hitting and I am hoping that will lift the performance of some young players that played below par last year. Specifically, I see several players who should help Benintendi has gained 10 pounds and is a year more experienced. He has had excellent swing mechanics and is likely to move forward. Bogey took pitches down the middle and swung at pitches low and away. New coaching may go a long way to help him although he has a pattern of falling off in the second half. Betts also didn't seem himself and while his swing mechanics looked sound to me, he still swung at a lot of balls down and away. Other hitters that may do better this year are Moreland coming off a toe injury. He is a solid ML hitter Rameriz should be better with his shoulder now reconstructed Pedey when he returns should be able to play without leg pain. He has had excellent hand eye coordination. Lets hope his bat speed won't drop off with his age. With Nunez and Martinez coming it will be interesting to see where they play and whether any existing Sox players get traded as a result of these moves.

Changing the subject. With the Hoz signing the door should be open for JDM to sign this week and the FA logjam to break. It has been crumbling of late. Hope we get JDM but if we don't life will go on.

If Dickerson is so good, why ared they dumping him. His salary isn't that high.

You aren't thinking. Too much for too little.

I wouldn't let go of Benintendi for anything other than a superstar. The kid has great potential for a lot of years.

I tend to agree with the point of widespread unnderperformance with the bat even given some injury issues in 2017. Guys like JBJ, Betts and Bogey were examples of guys who have hit better but were in regression in the second half. Maybe Bogey's wrist was involved aand Betts hand, but it doesn't explain taking first pitch strikes down the middle and chasing balls off the plate. We may well see a difference under Cora with these guys and can draw further conclusions about the reasons for the underperformance after we see the performance going forward this year. My eye test tells me it had to do with JF and his coaches.

Beware the ghost of Allen Criag

Given that their second halfs were weak at the plate, you would have to think the weakness and taking good pitches early correlate. I also believe these stats were driven by the coaches. Cora can help with that.

With Nunez available, I would delay him until July. No need to rush him back.

Bogey's second halfs have been worse than the first in every year but one. His pitch selection in the second half in 2017 was poor and that has nothing to do with his wrist. His plate mechanics were bad as well and you might infer the wrist had something to do with that or it got into his head. My view is a new hitting coach might help him to be a better and more consistent hitter and even add some pop to his bat. We shall see. If not, his value will drop since his defense is not that strong.

They have Brannen in the wings as a possible replacement for JBJ. The fielding is there but the hitting willl be a question mark as for any very young player.

If Swihart can catch and hit, then Leon may go mid season. Some team always needs a good defensive catcher.

Of those, I would choose Brentz and Swihart. Castillo's salary gets in the way.

I thought Nunez was the best Red Sox hitter last year before the injury. He is definely a plus for the team, if healthy.