A little more than halfway through the season, it's time to hand out grades for the 2021 Red Sox. Overall, based on expectations, the organization gets a solid 'A.'
But we're here to provide individual grades, also based on expectations.
Without further ado...
POSITION PLAYERS
Rafael Devers: A
What's not to like? Devers is among the league leaders in RBI, homers, slugging percentage and total bases. And while the error total is high, he's made big strides defensively since the first month and has a positive defensive runs saved rating.
Xander Bogaerts: A-
Offensively, he's emerged as the best at his position, ranking third in offensive WAR in all of MLB. A tough out, consistent, can hit with two strikes and puts the ball in play. The defensive numbers, however, are alarming -- he's ranked dead last among all shortstops in defensive runs saved at -11.
J.D. Martinez: A-
The hope was that last year was an aberration. Turns out, apparently, that it was. He looks like his 2019 self -- which is to say, one of the most feared righthanded run producers in the game. Still a liability in the outfield, but that's not why they're paying him.
Hunter Renfroe: B+
Easily the most pleasant surprise on the roster - both for his brilliant work in the outfield and the ability to hit righties and be an everyday contributor. Points, too, for using the whole field offensively.
Alex Verdugo: B-
Steady, but something of a disappointment overall. He's been a bit sloppy in the outfield and while he's not a power hitter per se, the .425 slugging percentage should be better.
Kike Hernandez: C+
If we were basing this solely on the last month, he'd have a far better grade. But he didn't contribute much in the first two months and that can't be ignored. Lately, his defensive play has skyrocketed, and he's made an impact at the top of the lineup. Should be interesting to see what he does over the second half.
Christian Arroyo: C
Some extremely timely hitting -- in the span of about two weeks, he seemed to specialize in game-winning or game-tying homers -- and surprisingly stout defense have been welcomed. Sadly, the injury bug continues to bite.
Christian Vazquez: C
Tough player to evaluate. Positives: durability, improvement as a handler of staff and game-calling. Negatives: a league-leading eight passed balls, a caught-stealing rate below league average and most of all, a .659 OPS.
Kevin Plawecki: C-
Plawecki hasn't been the contributor he was a year ago. An injury sent him to the IL for a couple of weeks, which didn't help. Teams have run on him freely (18-of-20) and unlike a year ago, there haven't been any signature at-bats.
Bobby Dalbec: D+
A disappointment, to be sure. Strikeouts are part of the equation here, but the 36.8 percent whiff rate is beyond alarming, especially since it's not offset by walks (4.7 percent). Massively strong as the 11 homers attest, but the power output hasn't been nearly consistent enough.
Marwin Gonzalez: D+
Points for his versatility -- he's started games at six different positions -- and has been especially good almost everywhere, especially second base. But there's no ignoring his horrendous offense (.583 OPS).
Danny Santana: F
There was such promise in those first few games. Since then, however, it's been virtually nada, zip, nothing -- reflected in his OPS+ of 41. Currently on the IL and the question lingers: how much longer does he get when he gets healthy?
Franchy Cordero: F
To his credit, Cordero went to Triple A Worcester and has torn it up there, while taking on the challenge of learning first base. But there's no getting around his offensive ineptitude at the big league level as his .501 OPS suggests.
INCOMPLETE: Connor Wong, Michael Chavis, Jonathan Arauz
STARTING PITCHERS:
Nathan Eovaldi: B+
Finally healthy, he's made 18 starts, eclipsing his season total in five of his previous nine seasons. He's been superb at keeping the ball in the ballpark (five homers in 103.1 innings) and limiting walks (1.7 per 9 IP). Loses a half-grade for allowing five ER or more four times.
Nick Pivetta: B-
Pivetta began the year strong and showed himself to be a fiery competitor. His start against Jacob deGrom was one of the highlights of the first half. He's tailed off of late, failing to get through five innings in two of his last three outings before the break.
Martin Perez: C+
On the one hand, Perez hasn't been at all flashy, and several times, Alex Cora has given him a quick hook, making you wonder how much faith the club has in him. On the other hand, he has yielded three earned runs or less in all but three of his 18 starts.
Garrett Richards: C-
It's become fashionable to hoot on him (raises hand) for all the drama he's created in the aftermath of Great Foreign Substance Crackdown of 2021 and deduce that his previous success was due solely to Spider Tack. But for an 11-start run, he had a 3.14 ERA and he seems to be, at the very least, figuring some things out.
Eduardo Rodriguez: D+
One the one hand, he deserves credit for coming back from missing all of 2020. He's also been undeniably unlucky (FIP: 3.64). But at some point, a 5.52 ERA is a 5.52. He's trending up, however.
RELIEVERS
Garrett Whitlock: A
Who knew? On the short-list of the best Rule 5 acquisitions the game has seen in the last decade. He quickly earned the trust of Cora and the coaching staff with a three-pitch mix and has had a league-leading 15 scoreless appearances of more than one inning. An absolute revelation.
Matt Barnes: A-
The four blown saves are a tad high, but there's no getting around how otherwise reliable he's been. Far more aggressive in the strike zone and far more successful in throwing first-pitch strikes, both of which have him off to his best season ever.
Adam Ottavino: A-
For the first few weeks, he looked like some Trojan Horse -- sent here by the Yankees to sabotage the bullpen. To his credit, he made adjustments and has been lights out since the third week of April.
Josh Taylor: A-
Taylor's first few weeks were even worse than Ottavino's. Then, he went on an incredible run and didn't allow a run from late April all the way until the final weekend of the first half.
Hirokazu Sawamura: B+
He deserves great credit for adjusting to MLB so quickly, and he's eaten up valuable innings in the middle of the game. The only concern is his habit of giving up homers -- seven in 36.2 innings -- in a role where that can be highly damaging.
Darwinzon Hernandez: B-
At times he can be overpowering, as reflected by his 11.7 strikeouts per 9 IP, the second-highest strikeout rate in the bullpen. Unfortunately, that's balanced out by an absurdly high walk rate (6.9 per 9 IP), calling into question how much he can be trusted in high-leverage spots.
Phillips Valdez: C-
For a time, his changeup worked as great weapon late in games, especially in low-leverage spots. But eventually, that got hit around, too, resulting in him being optioned.
Matt Andriese: D-
At this point, it's almost hard to believe that he finished April with a 1.42 ERA. Since then, however, he's pitched to an 8.39 ERA and hitters have a 1.090 OPS against him. As with with Santana, the question is how much longer does he remain on the roster if he doesn't turn it around?
INCOMPLETE: Ryan Weber, Brandon Workman, Colten Brewer, Brandon Brennan, Eduard Bazardo, Austin Brice, Yacksel Rios, Tanner Houck.