Buying or Selling Boston Red Sox's 5 Most Surprising April Stars

The Boston Red Sox entered the season with lofty expectations after winning 93 games last season and then adding Chris Sale to the mix in a winter meetings blockbuster.

At 11-9, with a plus-1 run differential, they haven't exactly stormed out of the gates. But all things considered, it could be a whole lot worse.

A pair of key arms in David Price and Tyler Thornburg have yet to make their season debuts, the offense is still trying to find consistent run production in the wake of David Ortiz's retirement and a new-look relief corps is still in the process of sorting out roles.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are some surprise April stars who have gone a long way toward offsetting those early issues.

But are they the real deal?

Ahead, we'll dive a bit deeper into five early standouts and decide whether to buy or sell their performances.

RP Robby Scott

John Raoux/Associated Press

2017 Stats

7 G, 2 HLD, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 1 BB, 3 K, 4.0 IP, 0.3 WAR

Overview

As an undrafted free agent who was plucked from the independent league, Robby Scott was a long shot to even reach the big leagues.

Now he's quickly emerging as a reliable lefty specialist.

"The path he's traveled is a unique one," manager John Farrell told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. You love the perseverance. You love the fact the guy has earned everything he's received based on performance. Nothing's been attached to a status of a draft choice or an initial investment."

Dating back to his first taste of MLB action last season, he's worked 10 scoreless innings over 14 combined appearances, and he's done it with fringe stuff. His fastball tops out in the upper 80s, and he pairs it with an average curveball and the occasional changeup.

MLB.com wrote: "Scott has little margin for error, but he knows it and thrives on the edge. He goes after hitters and won't beat himself with walks. He's already exceeded expectations and scouting reports, and he could fill a specialist role for Boston in 2017."

Buy or Sell: Sell

While I'll sell Scott as a true shutdown lefty, there's no reason he can't carve out a spot as a solid specialist in the Boston pen. Think something similar to late-career Randy Choate.

UT Marco Hernandez

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

2017 Stats

40 PA, .289/.325/.316, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 5 R, 0.5 WAR

Overview

Marco Hernandez was one of the stars of spring training for the Red Sox, hitting .377/.433/.672 with 13 extra-base hits in 67 plate appearances.

That performance, coupled with an injury to infielder Josh Rutledge, earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster, and he's made the most of a part-time role.

His 0.5 WAR is tied for sixth on the team, and he's tallied 3 DRS over 88 total innings between second base, shortstop and third base.

With Pablo Sandoval and Brock Holt both landing on the disabled list in recent days, Hernandez could be afforded an opportunity at regular playing time at the hot corner over the next few weeks.

The 24-year-old will never provide much in the way of power, but he has the hit tool to be more than just a run-of-the-mill utility infielder. And he's got a chance to prove himself.

Buy or Sell: Buy

Hernandez was a .283 hitter over parts of seven minor league seasons, and he's always been a standout defender, so his performance so far this season is just a continuation of that. He doesn't offer much upside, but his showing looks legit.

RP Heath Hembree

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

2017 Stats

9 G, 5 HLD, 1.59 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 4 BB, 13 K, 11.1 IP, 0.5 WAR

Overview

The Red Sox had a hole to fill in the setup role this offseason after Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa and Brad Ziegler all departed in free agency.

They wound up acquiring standout right-hander Tyler Thornburg from the Milwaukee Brewers during the winter meetings, but he's been sidelined since spring training with a sore shoulder and is still on the recovery trail.

That left a clear void, and Heath Hembree has stepped up big in the early going.

He leads the team with five holds and has gone multiple innings in his past two appearances, emerging as something of a hybrid reliever as opposed to a strict eighth-inning guy.

The 28-year-old spent the bulk of last season on the MLB roster, pitching to a 2.65 ERA and 1.33 WHIP over 38 appearances, but he didn't see many high-leverage situations, with just six holds.

Buy or Sell: Buy

Hembree was once viewed as a future closer during his time as a San Francisco Giants farmhand, so the stuff to succeed in the late innings has always been there. Expect him to be a key part of the relief corps all season.

1B Mitch Moreland

Steven Senne/Associated Press

2017 Stats

85 PA, .307/.388/.533, 11 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 10 R, 0.9 WAR

Overview

Mitch Moreland is well on his way to earning every penny of that one-year, $5.5 million deal he signed during the offseason.

With Hanley Ramirez moving to DH, he was essentially brought aboard to replace the retiring Ortiz in the lineup, although no one expected him to come anywhere close to matching his level of production.

The 31-year-old slugged 20-plus home runs in three of the past four seasons, and he's the reigning AL Gold Glove winner at first base, but he's exceeded even the team's wildest expectations to this point.

Along with leading the AL in doubles, with 11, he also ranks among the top 20 in the league in batting average (.307, 17th), on-base percentage (.388, 13th), OPS (.922, 16th), hits (23, 14th) and total bases (40, 14th).

"In the RBI situations, he's using the whole field," Farrell told Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. "He's got good plate coverage. He's not making him susceptible to one area of the strike zone or one particular pitch. He might be giving up a little bit of power for the all-field approach. It's been working for him."

Buy or Sell: Sell

I fully expect Moreland to once again finish the season with an OPS hovering around .750 and 20-25 home runs, and playing half his games in Fenway Park could help him set a new career high in doubles. That said, his .404 BABIP so far is a good indication that his hot start won't be entirely sustainable.

C Christian Vazquez

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

2017 Stats

25 PA, .478/.520/.739, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 2 R, 0.7 WAR

Overview

How much longer will the Red Sox give Sandy Leon regular playing time?

The 28-year-old turned in an out-of-nowhere breakout season last year, hitting .310/.369/.476 with 26 extra-base hits in 283 plate appearances. However, that stat line was propped up by a .392 BABIP, and he's come crashing back to earth this season with a .205/.222/.318 line over his first 12 games.

Meanwhile, defensive standout Christian Vazquez has been on fire at the plate, going 11-for-23 with four doubles and a triple.

That same unsustainable luck applies once again, though, as his .579 BABIP obviously won't hold up going forward.

Vazquez was a .266/.344/.390 hitter in the minors, and he's never shown a ton of power, so expecting him to suddenly explode offensively is wishful thinking.

Still, his ability to handle the staff and control the running game with his rocket arm makes him an asset regardless of what he's providing at the plate.

Look for the playing time to shift more toward Vazquez in the weeks to come.

Buy or Sell: Sell

Vazquez has always been a defense-first catcher, and there's nothing in his track record of his peripheral numbers to suggest he's going to suddenly develop into an impact offensive player. That said, he might still be a better bet than Leon to see the bulk of the playing time going forward.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.