Boston Red Sox Hitters: 2015 Team Preview
Aug 29, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (15) throws the ball to first against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
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The most intriguing aspect of the 2015 Boston Red Sox will certainly be their crowded outfield. Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo have fascinating potential, but I would want to know that they will be given starting roles in the outfield on Opening Day before I invest in them. I expect the Red Sox outfield depth chart to not be sorted out until Spring Training. I will have to wait and see on Betts and Castillo’s roles before I make my final judgments.
Once again, David Ortiz is probably the best draft day value because he routinely is drafted much lower than the cost of his production because of his age. However, his BB/K continues to be among the best in the league and he hit 35 homers and drove in 104 runs last season. At 39 years old, a sudden decline is a major risk for Ortiz, but I still really like the upside for a player who will be drafted around pick #75.
Dustin Pedroia is not that great of a fantasy baseball option. There is absolutely nothing in his stat line that makes me want to go out and draft him. The .281 batting average sounds decent, but hitting for average can be quite variable and hard to project. The counting stats seem decent, but I prefer Neil Walker in terms of both price and production.
Pablo Sandoval falls into the same category as Dustin Pedroia where their real life accolades (World Series champion, fan favorite, etc.) boosts their fantasy draft stock for no good reason. Since October baseball is not a part of your fantasy league, I would probably stay away from Pablo Sandoval unless you believe that playing for the Red Sox will make a big difference in his stats.
Mike Napoli is my favorite player on the Boston Red Sox, but his fantasy value is fairly limited. He is good for 20 homers as Tanner predicts, but his value outside of the long ball is pretty mediocre. Due to the fact that he plays first base, Napoli is nothing more than a cheap utility player or a bench bat.
Tanner Bell of Smart Fantasy Baseball has created all of the projections seen in this post. You can read about how he develops his projections here. His projections are invaluable to this site. You can also visit his site at www.smartfantasybaseball.com.
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