Let The Kids In Red Sox Play
Photo via @RedSox on Twitter/X
During an interesting year in Boston, the Red Sox have found themselves looking internally, seeing what they have in store for the future. During this year, the Red Sox have “let the kids play” and it has worked out in their favor. The big names, and rookies, that have come into their own this season are as follows: Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Brayan Bello, Connor Wong, and the older rookie Masataka Yoshida. As of late, Casas and Duran have emerged as young stars and are proving their worth as pillars of the future.
Photo by Michael Dwyer (AP Photo)
For starters, Duran has shown he is the real deal and that he can be a very dynamic player. Over the course of the year, he has had to earn a spot due to the Red Sox acquiring Adam Duvall as their Center Fielder in the offseason. However, Duvall suffered a wrist injury early in the year and the Red Sox needed someone to step up. The man who stepped up actually surprised many fans after his rough 2022 year, Jarren Duran became the man. Making his 2023 season debut on April 17th Duran has quickly proven his worth. As of August 5th, Duran is 4th in the MLB and 2nd in the American League in doubles, is slashing .317/.367/.522 good for an .889 OPS, and 23 stolen bases. Although Duran has found his swing and in a big way that’s not the only tool, he’s been using to show his worth. One of the most dynamic skills that he puts on display in every game is his electric speed. Duran ranks 96th percentile in Sprint Speed and 99th percentile in Outfielder Jump according to Baseball Savant. Using his top percentile Sprint Speed Duran has 23 stolen bases and only being caught ONCE! Jarren Duran is a playmaker and having him as your leadoff guy helps tremendously when you have big RBI guys behind you like Justin Turner and Rafael Devers.
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Another guy who has emerged as a pillar of the future is Triston Casas. Earning AL Rookie of the Month for July, Casas has caught fire after struggling early in the year. During his rookie of the month campaign Casas slashed .349/.442/.758 good for a 1.199 OPS, hit 7 homeruns, and 13 RBIs. Many had written Casas off after he struggled earlier in his rookie year. But over the course of the year, he has proven more and more that he can be an elite hitter and a consistent MLB level bat. Casas was a big prospect in the Red Sox system for a while and got the nod this season as the first baseman of 2023. The Red Sox put their trust in him to figure it out in the bigs and he’s proven time and time again that he can make the adjustments to succeed. One of the biggest skills Casas has used that a lot of rookies do not have immediately is his incredibly good eye at the plate. According to Baseball Savant, Casas is 93rd percentile in walk percentage and 83rd percentile in Chase Rate. This is a good sign as the young star grows into his own that he is always going to be able to work counts and get himself in successful situations. Another approach Casas has at the plate that helps him succeed is his new age take on the pitch clock. If you watch Casas hit, he knows exactly what he is looking for in each count. An interesting approach is how in almost every 1-1 count Casas takes his batters timeout. Many believe the 1-1 pitch to be the most important count in the league. Triston Casas agrees with this in his approach by taking his batters timeout and evaluating what he wants to do when he steps back in that box.
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One of the other main rookie contributors this season comes in a guy who is not the normal age for a MLB rookie but still holds that status in Masataka Yoshida. While this being his first year in MLB, Yoshida is no stranger to professional play. During his seven-year stint in NPB Yoshida slashed .326/.421/.539 good for a .960 OPS with 133 homeruns and 467 RBIs. Many executives believed Yoshida would struggle in the MLB and be an average bat at best, however the Red Sox took a chance on him. This resulted in Yoshida signing a 5-year, $90 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. In his first year in the MLB Yoshida has done more than prove he can handle the pitching; he’s become a star. Now his defense may not blow anyone away being 10th percentile Outfielder Jump and 54th percentile Arm Strength it’s the bat that is showing to be elite. During his first MLB season, as of August 5th, Yoshida is slashing .305/.365/.481 good for an .846 OPS with 12 homeruns and 54 RBIs. Yoshida is showing exactly what he is capable of in having a high batting average, which he is 8th in the MLB and 5th in the AL (.305), and a high on base percentage. Masataka Yoshida is going to be apart of this team for a while and he is proving that he is a pillar the Red Sox need and will be able to lean on for the future.
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Now baseball is not only about hitting, but neither are the rookie sensations in the Red Sox clubhouse. A pitcher that’s emerged right on time and will contribute to this team for a long time is right-handed pitcher, Brayan Bello. Bello was the Red Sox top pitching prospect in the organization coming into 2022 and was awarded some late season starts debuting on July 6th, 2022. During his first full season he has performed well going 8-6 sporting a 3.79 ERA in 102 innings of work as of August 5th. Many believe that Bello is a front-line starter and could develop into a key part in Boston winning its next championship. During this off season and throughout the 2023 season Bello has gotten help from one of the games premier pitchers of all time. Pedro Martinez has been mentoring Bello and helping improve his young career, one thing he has been helping him improve on is his changeup. Pedro had an elite changeup throughout his career and is now showing his skills to the young phenom. Bello has already seen improvement in his changeup with it having a 43.8 Whiff% and a 27.9 PutAway% according to Baseball Savant. Brayan Bello is going to only improve for the Red Sox and him developing along with his other young teammates is going to make this Red Sox club a team to watch in the very near future.