Red Sox: 5 things we learned in the first half

Jackie Bradley Jr.

JBJ is a major league ball player – period. That wasn’t fully grasped in the minds of many Red Sox fans coming into this season, as Bradley struggled in his first attempts at the big show. This season has changed our perception.

While Bradley’s defense has always been there, as he is a gold-glove caliber defender, his offense was at points atrocious. But, 2015 saw Bradley show some offensive life at the plate. Particularly in the month of August when he hit .354 with 5 home runs.

And during the first half of this season, Bradley has solidified himself as the everyday center fielder while making huge strides and even got voted into his first All-Star game. Of course, starting the season off by batting .381 with 8 home runs in May helped. June was a month that saw Bradley’s offensive numbers slip, but so did just about every other player’s production on the team.

So far in July, he has rebounded nicely, posting a .306 BA in 36 ABs to bring his average up to .296 entering the break. Bradley isn’t going anywhere and he looks to be a big part of the Red Sox future plans in the outfield.

Next: David Ortiz