I know what the skeptics will say. They’ll say that he can’t keep up this pace. They’ll say he’s just on a hot streak and that he’ll come back down to Earth eventually. But I don’t care what anyone else says.
I love Brock Holt.
He’s everything this team needs right now. He’s excellent defensively. He’s always going full tilt, in a way that resembles the guy manning second base just across the infield. He’s excelling as the leadoff hitter, which was a spot this team had been desperately trying to fill. And I’m praying that he stays there.
With Stephen Drew nearing a return to Boston, it appears that Holt will be the odd-man out on the left side of the infield. The Sox aren’t giving Drew $10 million to be a backup or a platoon player and they have no intention of sitting Bogaerts. Thankfully though, sensing that they have something good with Holt, the team has started training him in the outfield and at first base, with the thinking being that he can become some sort of super-utility player.
I honestly don’t care where he plays. Stick him at first every once in a while. Give him a chance in the outfield. Teach him to play catcher for all I care. He just needs to be in the lineup.
Baseball players don’t like change. Neither do fans when their team is having success. And after winning seven in a row with a lineup led by Holt and Bogaerts, it would be a shame to have the team make changes that might backfire.
This isn’t just me getting all worked up over a winning streak. This guy can flat out play. After today’s 4-4 hitting performance, Holt is batting .337 on the year. Right behind him in the two-hole, Bogaerts is hitting .296. It’s a youth movement in Boston and it has the fans excited. There’s a buzz around the team all of the sudden that wasn’t there before.
So, John Farrell, I don’t ask much. But please keep Brock Holt in the lineup.