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Red Sox 25 in 25: Chris Young

By Drew Peabody

Jul 28, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Chris Young (24) connects for an RBI double against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 28, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Chris Young (24) connects for an RBI double against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports /
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The BoSox Injection staff’s preview of the Boston Red Sox 25-man roster continues with a look at lefthander-killer outfielder Chris Young.

2015 Stats: 140 games, .252/.320/.453, 14 HR, 42 RBI, 1.5 WAR

Chris Young‘s skill set reminds me of a football highlight on a sideline in which Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher gets in the face of one his defensive players and states with conviction “Rush The Quarterback”. Red Sox manager John Farrell could have a similar conversation with Chris Young saying “Mash Lefthanded Pitchers”.

In 2015, Young had a resurgence for the New York Yankees, pounding 14 homers while posting a .773 OPS, his best since 2010 with the Arizona Diamondbacks when he was an All-Star.  The splits between facing left handed and right handed pitching were startling.  .182/246/.339 (.585 OPS) in 181 plate appearances (PA) vs. right handed pitching versus .327/.397/.575 (.972 OPS) in 175 PA vs. left handed pitching.  The home run power was the same, seven homers versus each side.  The difference seemed to come in the average and overall extra base ability as of the 20 extra hits vs. lefties, 11 of them went for extra bases.

Looking at his career splits in 3279 PA vs. lefties and 1406 vs. righties, they favor hitting vs. lefties (.837 vs. .704 OPS) but the home run power isn’t much better, a homer every 26.5 PA vs. lefties, one every 28.2 PA vs. righties.  The extra base hits are also essentially the same, 10.7 PA vs. lefties and every 9.9 PA vs. righties.  The major differences are singles and walks.  His overall average is .224 vs. righties and .263 vs. lefties and his walk rate is one every 7.7 PA vs. lefties and only one every 12.0 PA vs. righties.  His rookie year of 2007 was the only year in which is splits vs. each side were essentially the same (.764 vs. righties, .757 vs. lefties)

This difference between OPS between pitching sides was the highest of his career.  When you deal with statistics, there is going to be the norm and there are going to be outliers.  Last season falls in the outliers category (a 387 point difference).  2014 falls into the same category, only in the reverse.  Young hit an inexplicable .149/.290/270 vs. lefties (.561 OPS) while hitting a career average .720 OPS vs. righties.  This probably accounts for his lower than normal .683 OPS. that season.

Red Sox manager John Farrell’s assertion that Young will get every at-bat versus lefthanders means the Red Sox intend to take advantage of Young’s ability to pound left handers. Farrell also said that Young will also get at-bats vs. righthanders, especially at Fenway Park to take advantage of the Green Monster. The power splits mentioned above are certainly a factor in that. Young can homer off either pitching side.

Though Young has extensive experience in center field (947 of 1173 career games), expect that he will primarily be in the corner outfield spots. His defensive prowess seems to have eroded in recent years. After 17 defensive runs saved (DRS) in 2011 and 11 DRS in 2012 for Arizona, he has been in the negative over the last three seasons with a -9 DRS in 2013, -1 in 2014 and -4 in 2015. Young was exclusively a center fielder before 2012 but has logged 152 games in left field and 109 in right field since then.  Most likely he would man the easiest outfield position in each park. Young has 45 career outfield assists in 1173 games in the outfield so don’t expect him to thrown a bunch of people out.

Young was a solid pickup for possibly more money than he would have gotten elsewhere. He won’t start every day but should see around 350 to 400 plate appearances. He will likely bat lower in the order to utilize his power but his on-base ability (.397 OBP vs. lefties) might put him toward the top of the order occasionally (20 starts batting second last year). For $6.5 million, the Red Sox are hoping to see lots of left hander mashing and screaming liners flying over the Green Monster.

Next: Red Sox ranked 2nd in Vegas to make 2016 World Series

Stay tuned to BoSoxInjection.com as we profile a different player each day of the 25 we think will head north with the team in April.

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