Position Player Candidates
As the resident lefty-masher off the bench, Chris Young has been uncharacteristically awful against lefties this season. He enters the day hitting a mere .233 with a .660 OPS against southpaws, throwing a wrench in the team’s plans to sub him into the lineup for Mitch Moreland when there’s a left-hander on the mound. But wait, there’s hope! Young homered off of Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ last week – his first home run against a lefty this year. He was 3-for-9 at the plate for the week, adding a double to that homer.
Mookie Betts was 9-for-29 (.310) with a pair of doubles over his last seven games. He also swiped his 17th base of the season to equal his home run total. No other hitter in the majors has reached at least 17 in both categories this season.
Putting up numbers at the plate isn’t the only way a position player can have an outstanding week. Jackie Bradley hit a pitiful .172 last week, yet still managed to make his presence felt with his glove. First he robbed Aaron Judge of a home run ticketed for deep center field.
Yes, @JackieBradleyJr did THIS. https://t.co/xdwnaoHA41 pic.twitter.com/1SQI5nAlhs
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 17, 2017
Later in the week, Bradley threw caution to the wind by crashing into the outfield wall to make another spectacular catch.
.@JackieBradleyJr, the human highlight reel. pic.twitter.com/zLaHSBJOrc
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 22, 2017
Even when he’s struggling to drive in runs for the Red Sox, keeping the opposing team off the scoreboard is equally as effective.