The next entry in the youthful parade is Rafael Devers and that should be no surprise after Devers’ debut in 2017. Certain nuggets pop up when looking at Devers such as a .342 BABIP, .198 ISO, .284 average and his sheer power to all fields. Devers can hit and at 21-years-old the upside is potentially David Ortiz like, but then comes the sour note in this refrain – fielding.
Devers plays third or does third play Devers? A -12.7 UZR/150 with 14 errors attached in just 507.2 innings. This was not a defensive anomaly, but a historic track that has followed Devers through his short professional career. Will he improve? If hard work is rewarded it will, but eventually, Devers baseball fate may be elsewhere on the diamond.
Hitting – especially spectacular hitting – will override defensive limitations in an MVP vote, but that is what it will take from Devers – an Ortiz like performance. I doubt we will see that in 2018. So, Devers will be certainly lower on the odds regarding team MVP.