BY CLAIRE DUPRE, Freshman
BLYTHEWOOD- The Boston Red Sox are expected to go from last to first in the AL East season this year.
Making the transition from LF to 1B is Hanley Ramirez. This is a good test of his skills as he has played as an outfielder and a short stop.
Dustin Pedroia or ‘Pedroia the Destroia’ is the second baseman and he is returning as a Gold Glove winner.
Short Stop, Xander Bogaerts is returning for his sophomore season as he took over last year. He has high expectations because of his talented skill level for defense and offense.
Travis Shaw, third baseman, who beat out incumbent by Pablo Sandoval for the starting job, is a sweet swinging left handed rookie with lots of power who can hit an average.
The catcher this year is a rookie, Christian Vazquez who is above average defensively with a terrific throwing arm. He needs to learn how to control the pitching staff to get better at his duties.
In the Left Field, Brock Holt and Chris Young are fighting for the top spot. Holt is a left hander and Young is a free handing righty from the New York Yankees.
In center field Mookie Betts is taking over the starting job as a center fielder. He is the most capable this year of having an MVP season and he shows real power for leading. He could possibly hit at least 20 home runs and reach 40 stolen bases.
Right field this season is Jackie Bradley Jr. he is a University of South Carolina graduate and could potentially see lots of right field time due to his defensive range and above average arm.
The DH or designated hitter is David Ortiz, ‘Big Papi’. This year is his 17th and final year, as he is retiring at the end of the season. He has been the face of the Red Sox since leading them to their first world series in 86 years in 2004.
Ortiz is the premier DH in the league and should put up big numbers again this year after joining the 500 home run club last year. Big Papi is a lock to be a first ballot hall of famer.
The projected batting order this season is first up is..
CF - Mookie Betts
2B - Dustin Pedroia
3B - Travis Shaw
DH - David Ortiz
1B - Hanley Ramirez
C - Christen Vazquez
SS - Xander Bogaerts
LF - Brock Holt/Chris Young
RF - Jackie Bradley Jr.
This pitching staff will be the make or break for the Sox this year if they can hold up their end of the bargain they should have plenty of offense to put together 95+ wins for the year.
Newly acquired LHP David Price anchors the staff and should be a 20 game winner. After Price there are many question marks.
Will Clay Buchholz pitched 200+ innings or will he end up injured again?
Rick Porcello needs to rebound from last years underwhelming season and could give the Red Sox 15+ wins.
The Red Sox will rely on a number of rookie starters to fill in the gaps with some wins. Matt Barnes, Henry Owens, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Steven Wright could be those guys.
This should be the Red Sox strength of the bullpen staff this year.
Premiere closer Craig Kimbrel was one of the biggest free agent signings over the winter. Kimbrel can easily save 35+ games and lead the league in saves like he did in the NL.
Manager, John Farrell, is returning for his third season with the Sox. He needs to get off to a hot start in order to keep his job afloat.
Last year his last place finish with the team was not acceptable, and this year with all of the talent that he has control over needs to be seen doing great.
It’s all or nothing for him this year.
The Red Sox have two of the best prospects in baseball playing in their minor league system at this moment. Highly touted second baseman Yoan Moncada and outfielder Andrew Benintendi are at AA salem.
This season the Red Sox biggest competitors in the AL East seems to be the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles.
The Ravens are going to be competitive because they have a solid offensive line up and the pitching depth may carry them into the playoffs.
The Blue Jays have an explosive offense but pitching is the top strength.
