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Boston Red Sox: Five bold predictions for the 2019 season

By Sean Penney

BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 12: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates a two run home run with Xander Bogaerts #2 in the second inning during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 12, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 12: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates a two run home run with Xander Bogaerts #2 in the second inning during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 12, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – JULY 14: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox looks on after hitting a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the tenth inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on July 14, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 14: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox looks on after hitting a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the tenth inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on July 14, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Bogaerts wins a batting title

Mookie Betts is the reigning AL batting champion but one of his teammates could supplant him with the league’s best average this year. No, not J.D. Martinez, the runner-up to Betts last year. This season it will be Xander Bogaerts.

You wouldn’t expect a career .284 hitter to be the frontrunner for the batting title but there are reasons to believe Bogaerts can make that leap. He’s shown the ability to hit for average in the past, finishing second in the league with a .320 average in 2015.

Bogaerts sacrificed a bit of batting average for more power the following year when he hit 21 home runs and topped a .800 OPS for the first time in his career. He maintained a more than respectable .294 average and made his lone All-Star appearance that year.

His 2017 season was ruined when Bogaerts was hit on the hand by a pitch in early July. He was hitting .308 at the time but that average quickly spiraled as Bogaerts attempted to play through the injury. He finished the year hitting .273 while also seeing a drastic dip in his power numbers.

Bogaerts bounced back last season, raising his average to .288 and setting career highs with 23 home runs, 103 RBI, and a .883 OPS. This was the production we expected when Bogaerts was a top prospect, a shortstop who could hit for average with power.

Now that Bogaerts has proven capable of doing both, he’ll aim to continue increasing his run production totals while getting back to the lofty batting averages he showed earlier in his career. Bogaerts will be a free agent after the season, giving him some extra incentive for a career year.

Even if Bogaerts doesn’t actually win a batting title, it should surprise no one if he has the best season of his career.

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