AL East Positional Rankings: Pre-Season RF Rankings Verdict – Ugly
By Nate Wardle
2. Boston Red Sox – Mookie Betts
Let’s be honest here, Betts being second isn’t totally his fault. Judge had a monster year. However, this was a slightly down year for the Red Sox’ right fielder.
Betts hit .264/.344/.459 with 24 home runs, 46 doubles, 102 runs batted in, 101 runs scored and 26 stolen bases. He also walked 77 times compared to 79 strikeouts. Those numbers aren’t bad. But, when compared with his career average of .292, it isn’t quite as good.
However, the All-Star, Gold Glove recipient was sixth in the MVP race and had an offensive WAR of 3.3. His defensive WAR was 2.6, combining for a 6.4.
Betts is beloved by the sabermetrics, with his range way above league average, and his runs saved as well. Betts did make five errors, but he got to more balls than most other right fielders, as evident by leading the league in putouts. He also led in range, was fourth in assists, sixth in stolen base percentage, seventh in runs batted in, sixth in runs scored and third in doubles.
It was another very good season for Betts, who hasn’t made a million dollars yet in a season. That will change in 2018, but he will be dealing with Pesky’s Pole for years to come.