MLB Report Cards: Grading Each Red Sox Player After the First Two Months of 2011
The start of 2011 was not kind to the Boston Red Sox. They lost 10 of their first 12 games, were swept in three of their first four series and scored more than five runs in a game just once.
Now, after 55 games, almost exactly one-third of the way through the season, the Red Sox have brought themselves back into contention. Three winning streaks of five or more games, 11 games in which they have scored at least seven runs, five shutouts and a couple of wins in extra innings.
They are 30-25, just one game back in the AL East of the first-place New York Yankees.
Here we look at each player who has taken the field this season for Boston, excluding the likes of Denys Reyes, who was released very early in the season. Grades through the first 25 games are taken from this article.
Mike Cameron
1 of 29
Grade: D
Grade through 25 games: C-
With JD Drew’s apparent inability to hit lefties (or more accurately, manager Terry Francona’s reluctance to play him against lefties), Cameron has appeared in 19 games so far. He has launched three home runs but they are the only highlight in what has been a dismal season for the veteran. He is hitting just .190 and even his three Gold Glove-winning fielding has regressed.
Carl Crawford
2 of 29
Grade: D+
Grade through 25 games: F
The best thing one can say about Crawford is that he is at least showing signs of breaking out. He won the American League Player of the Week yesterday, after going 11-28 in his last seven games.
The problem with that statistic is that it is distorted by two four-hit ballgames in which he collected 17 total bases. After that, he has gone 2-for-16, so he is still very much up and down.
However, he is much more "up" now than he was at the start of the season and after batting .155 in April, has now raised his average to a much more respectable .234. He is still a long way off but he is getting there.
JD Drew
3 of 29
Grade: D-
Grade through 25 games: C
Few players manage simultaneously to be uninspiring and frustrating, but JD Drew carries it off with aplomb.
After a fairly bright start to the season, Drew has fallen apart. In the entire month of May, he drove in two runs. That’s it. Just two. Adrian Gonzalez has matched or bettered that total in a single game 12 times this season.
Amongst players with at least 100 PA, only Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kevin Youkilis strike out more often. It is almost painful to have to watch Drew play right now.
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Jacoby Ellsbury
4 of 29
Grade: B+
Grade through 25 games: B+
Ellsbury is again on his way to one of the best stolen base totals in franchise history, though he is not on pace to match the team-record 70 he managed in 2009. He is on 19 steals so far this season. Only the Houston Astros’ Michael Bourn has stolen more (20).
He is doing exactly what one would want out of a leadoff guy. He is getting on base (.361 OBP—fourth on team) and stealing bags.
He also sports the fourth-highest average on the team, at .293 and has hit six home runs, which is also fourth-best amongst Sox hitters.
Adrian Gonzalez
5 of 29
Grade: A+
Grade through 25 games: A-
The Red Sox gave up a lot for Adrian Gonzalez. If you had asked GM Theo Epstein to outline the kind of production he would like his new first baseman to deliver, it still would not match the output the slugger has had.
He made a relatively slow start, especially in the power department; he had only one home run in April. But in May, Gonzalez was immense. He hit .341, went deep nine times and drove in 31 runs.
His 46 RBI are the best in the Major Leagues; his 10 home runs place him ninth in the AL and his .329 average is the fourth-best in the AL. Gonzalez also has 17 doubles, which places him third in all of baseball.
He has even surpassed expectations with the glove. His UZR/150 rating is the best of his career, excluding his rookie campaign.
Jose Iglesias
6 of 29
Grade: D
Not much to say, really. Iglesias did not even have time for his cup of coffee as he had just four plate appearances in his first stint with the big club. The Red Sox called him up because of Marco Scutaro’s injury but did not really want to. Now he is back in Pawtucket, expect him to stay there until September.
Jed Lowrie
7 of 29
Grade: B+
Grade through 25 games: A
Lowrie was never going to keep up his brilliant start for long. After two months, he has come back down to Earth somewhat. He is no longer batting .400 and Roger Maris’ 61 is not going to be threatened.
However, he has still been very good, with a .306 average and three home runs.
When Marco Scutaro returns from the DL, he will find it very difficult to win back his job as the starting shortstop.
Darnell McDonald
8 of 29
Grade: F
Grade through 25 games: D-
McDonald had just four at-bats in the month of May and is due to begin a rehab assignment in Triple-A Pawtucket. It has not been his year, though, with a terrible .143 average and his one home run accounting for his one RBI.
David Ortiz
9 of 29
Grade: A+
Grade through 25 games: B
Ortiz’ season can be summed up in four words: Big Papi is back. Here are some of his stats so far this season, with his AL ranks first, then his ranks amongst DHs.
BA: .310 (AL: eighth, DH: third)
OBP: .380 (10th, fourth)
SLG: .563 (fourth, first)
wOBA: .409 (fifth, first)
HR: 12 (fifth, first)
He is not back to his 54-homer best but he has reclaimed his place as one of the game’s best power threats.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about his resurgence is the fact that he is not striking out as often as he once did. He whiffs just 11.7 percent of the time, a career-best, making him the 11th-hardest person to strike out in the AL.
Dustin Pedroia
10 of 29
Grade: C+
Grade through 25 games: B+
Earlier in the season, you would have been forgiven for forgetting that Pedroia was playing with a metal pin in his foot. Now, it seems that it is really bothering him. He is hitting just .240 and has only four home runs and 18 RBIs to his name.
On the other hand, his defense has been great and he has 12 stolen bases.
Josh Reddick
11 of 29
Grade: D
It is impossible to grade Reddick fairly, since he has only played in three games this season. He has been very good, though. He is 5-for-9 with four RBI.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
12 of 29
Grade: C-
Grade through 25 games: F
Salty has struggled, there can be no question about that, but he has been more than adequate for Boston’s needs. We know that you do not need Joe Mauer or Carlton Fisk behind the plate to win championships. It is nice if you do but it is far from essential.
So far, Saltalamacchia has done a fine job—though Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka clearly still do not trust him to call a good game—with four home runs and a not-entirely-disastrous-for-a-catcher .218 batting average.
Marco Scutaro
13 of 29
Grade: D
Grade through 25 games: D
There is not much to say about Scutaro, really. He has not played since May 7 but before his trip to the DL he was having a poor season. His .189 average in April was improved to .235 and he hit his first home run just before he went on the disabled list. When he returns, he will likely serve as the backup to Lowrie.
Drew Sutton
14 of 29
Grade: C-
Sutton has performed admirably in his short spell with the Sox, hitting .269 and driving in five runs in seven games. He has played at second, third and short and has proven to be a somewhat useful utility guy.
Jason Varitek
15 of 29
Grade: D+
Grade through 25 games: D
After an abysmal April in which he hit .111, Varitek rebounded with a .333, two-homer month of May. His average has now risen to .235—his best since 2007.
Kevin Youkilis
16 of 29
Grade: C-
Grade through 25 games: C-
Perhaps the thumb which ended Youk’s season two months early last year is still bothering him. It would explain a lot, as, apart from taking his walks and hitting home runs, he has done very little this year.
Even with a very high walk rate (14.4 percent) his .384 on base percentage is still the second-worst of his career. This is in large part due to his batting average, which at .260 is 32 points below his career mark and 47 below his 2010 figure. He does have eight home runs and 34 RBI but he is still not the Youkilis we all know.
Alfredo Aceves
17 of 29
Grade: B+
Grade through 25 games: B
Aceves may have got hit hard last night, giving up eight runs (six earned) in five innings of work in a 10-7 loss to the white Sox, but he has been one of Theo’s best offseason acquisitions.
With John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka on the DL, Boston needed someone to join Tim Wakefield in moving to the rotation. They turned to Aceves and he rewarded them with two brilliant starts before last night’s poor showing.
Matt Albers
18 of 29
Grade: B+
Grade through 25 games: B+
Matt Albers has been great in the bullpen this season and his stats would reflect that, if it were not for one pathetic outing against the Chicago Cubs. He gave up six runs (five ER) without recording an out and saw his ERA jump from 1.56 to 4.15.
Still, 10 of his 15 appearances have been scoreless and the Cubs outing was the only time he had surrendered more than one run.
Daniel Bard
19 of 29
Grade: C
Grade through 25 games: C-
Bard has been so-so this season. His ERA is 3.51 yet in 25 appearances, he has allowed a run in just seven of them. He has not been great, but he has been solid enough.
Josh Beckett
20 of 29
Grade: A+
Grade through 25 games: A
Everyone agrees that 2007 was Josh Beckett’s finest season in a Boston uniform. If he continues his present run of form, that will no longer be the case. He was great in April, with a 2.65 ERA. He was phenomenal in May.
In six starts, he went at least six innings five times, allowing no runs three times, one run twice and two runs just once, in his last outing against Detroit. His ERA was an even 1.00 and he struck out 31 batters whilst allowing just 16 walks.
Clay Buchholz
21 of 29
Grade: B+
Grade through 25 games: D+
Buchholz was another player to get off to a sluggish start. His April ERA was 5.33 and he posted a 1-3 record. In May, he was the dominant pitcher we saw last season, going 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA.
Rich Hill
22 of 29
Grade: B+
It is hard to give Hill an A, since he has only pitched eight innings, but he deserves it. He has struck out 12 batters, walked just two and given up only three hits. The most striking stat, though, is his ERA, which is a perfect 0.00.
Bobby Jenks
23 of 29
Grade: F
Grade through 25 games: D-
Jenks returned to the team last night after spending almost the entire month on the DL, pitching a scoreless inning. We shall have to wait and see how he will perform now he is healthy again. Before his DL stint, his ERA was a sickening 9.35.
John Lackey
24 of 29
Grade: F
Grade through 25 games: D
Another player for whom we will have to wait is John Lackey. He has been on the disabled list since May 11 but up to that point he was horrific, going 2-5 with an ERA above eight.
Lackey drew some criticism for saying he had a good season last year because he led the team in quality starts. Well, fret not, Red Sox Nation. He will not be making that claim this year.
Of his seven games this year, three have been quality starts. Here is a quick run-through of the runs he has allowed in each start:
Nine, six, one, zero, two, eight, nine.
Those three games in the middle were great. Perhaps coincidentally, they were against three AL West teams: Seattle, Anaheim and Oakland. The guy cannot pitch in the East and he is proving that again this season.
He is pitching for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox on a rehab assignment and will return to the big club soon. Alas.
Jon Lester
25 of 29
Grade: B
Grade through 25 games: A+
Lester had won his last seven decisions when he was lit up by the White Sox two nights ago, but that was only because of the great run support he had received.
On May 10, he allowed five runs; the Sox scored 6. On May 15, he allowed four but the Sox scored seven. On May 20, he gave up five runs again but the Sox plated 15. The offense could only muster three runs against Chicago and Lester, who surrendered seven, took the loss.
His control has been very poor in the last month but the velocity is still there so it is unlikely to be an injury. He will turn it around eventually.
He needs to; the offense will not be able to bail him out every night.
Daisuke Matsuzaka
26 of 29
Grade: C
Grade through 25 games: B+
Dice had a phenomenal run in late April before an elbow injury started to limit his performance and eventually force him onto the DL.
There is no timetable for his return but when he does, the Sox will hope he is not the same pitcher who had an 8.74 ERA in May.
Jonathan Papelbon
27 of 29
Grade: A
Grade through 25 games: A
WEEI’s Rob Bradford had an interview with Jonathan Papelbon yesterday in which he said he would like to return to the Red Sox if that was the best thing for his family. He is certainly pitching well enough to make them think about it.
In 22 games, he has allowed a run six times. His walk rate has plummeted from last year – he has only given up three free passes.
He has been the closer the Sox need to make a playoff run, and while it is still unlikely he will return to Boston for the 2012 season, Theo will be very happy to have him this year.
Tim Wakefield
28 of 29
Grade: C
Grade through 25 games: D
With the injuries to Lackey and Daisuke, Wakefield was moved back into the rotation and he has been great.
He allowed one run in 6.2 IP against the Cubs and two runs in seven in his last start in Detroit. Wake, now 44, is inching closer to 200 wins and if he pitches like he is now, he will get there with ease.
Dan Wheeler
29 of 29
Grade: D-
Grade through 25 games: F
Wheeler went on the DL the same day Jenks did but returned much earlier. It appears as if his poor performance was due to injury as, since his return, he has made four scoreless appearances, and has seen his ERA fall from 11.32 to 7.80.
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