Red Sox Rankings: Top 5 Potential Outfield Combos After ASG

Jun 26, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (25) singles during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

3) An American Comeback

Left Field: Alejandro De Aza

Center Field: Mookie Betts

Right Field: Jackie Bradley Jr.

Key Substitutions: 

• Brock Holt in RF for Bradley’s play, or CF or LF for any injuries or days off

Reasoning:

With De Aza and Betts already confirmed as the better choices for left and center fields, right field will be the focus. In this case, it would be the tale of the Comeback Kid.

Bradley has spent three years of his life with Boston since 2013. In his first season, he played 37 games and hit .189. In his second season, he played 127 games, a much larger sample size, and hit .198. This season, he has played 14 games and hit .133.

Sounds terrible. So how can he be ranked ahead of Castillo?

Bradley is showing progress faster than his Cuban counterpart. Bradley’s hitting a slash line of .312/.388/.455, which is much better than Castillo in Triple-A Pawtucket. Granted that he has over a hundred more at-bats than Castillo, but these 231 at-bats show Bradley’s ability to adjust to what was burning him before at the plate. He hit a pitiful .212 for Pawtucket last season.

Stellar defense is also part of Bradley’s game. The Fenway faithful may forget that before Betts came along it was Bradley whom they cheered for mind-boggling catches in the outfield. Combine that with improvement with his bat and the native of Richmond, Virginia looks to be a better fit in right field.