Red Sox breakout candidates for the 2020 season

Five Red Sox players that can have breakout seasons.

With Spring Training 2.0 on the horizon, no one knows what to expect from the Boston Red Sox for the 2020 baseball season.

Will batters be able to attain a batting average of .400 or better? Who will hit the most home runs this season and what will that number be? How many wins will Cy Young Award candidates have?

Basically, there are so many question marks when it comes to statistics for the 2020 season. For the Red Sox, there are also many unknowns. Some spots have not been decided for the Opening Day roster including in the starting rotation and bullpen. Eduardo Rodriguez is the only pitcher in the projected rotation to start more than 12 games for the Red Sox in 2019. The Red Sox also haven’t had an official closer since Craig Kimbrel was on the team in 2018.

With so much to be decided for the Red Sox in the next couple of weeks, there is plenty of room for breakout stars. Some may be surprising while for others it may be expected. Here are five Red Sox players that I think will have a breakout season for Boston in 2020 (that hasn’t necessarily had one before).

Red Sox SP Nathan Eovaldi:

We all remember Nathan Eovaldi‘s heroics in the 2018 World Series when he came out of the bullpen in extras and threw 6 innings of 1 run ball which eventually led to a loss. The Red Sox initially got him from the Rays for Jalen Beeks. He played well in 2018 which led to the Red Sox signing him to a 4-year deal worth $68 million. He then struggled in 2019.

In the 2018 regular season, Eovaldi appeared in 12 games (11 were starts), going 3-3 with a 3.33 ERA. In 2019, however, he appeared in 23 games (only 12 were starts) and finished 2-1 with a 5.99 ERA and 0 SV.

Throughout the season, he was moved from the rotation to be the closer, and then moved back to the rotation after the closer experiment failed. It is also important to note that he underwent surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow midway through the 2019 season.

For the 2020 season, Eovaldi will have a much larger role after Chris Sale underwent Tommy John surgery, the Red Sox traded away David Price, and Rick Porcello signed with the New York Mets. He will now most likely serve as the No. 2 starter in the 2020 rotation instead of pitching from the back end of the rotation. He will have big shoes to fill for the shortened season.

Luckily, he pitched very well in Spring Training 1.0. Eovaldi went 2-0 in three starts after giving up 4 hits and 0 earned runs in 8 total innings. Along with him being healthy, as well as the fact that he has been upgraded to the second starter, are reasons why Eovaldi can potentially have a breakout season.

Red Sox SP Collin McHugh:

Collin McHugh is in an interesting spot right now. It’s not 100% clear where he is when it comes to recovering from an elbow injury. He did not appear in a single Spring Training game in 2020. Assuming he is healthy for the start of the 2020 season, McHugh can definitely be one of the stars of the rotation.

From 2014-2019, he had many high moments with the Houston Astros. In his first three years with the team, McHugh had double-digit wins in all of them. Just two years ago, he had a sub-two ERA out of the bullpen in 58 games.

If he is able to bounce back from his elbow injury, hopefully he can return to how he played back when he won a combined 43 games from 2014-2016. If being a starter doesn’t work out, he could be shifted to the bullpen as he has had success there as well. Either way, there is a lot to look forward to seeing with McHugh.

We can definitely see a breakout from McHugh due to his success with the Astros. In his six full seasons with the team, he has consistently been good, no matter where he has played. Whether he is used a starter (which is more likely) or as a reliever, he can succeed either way.

McHugh probably has the most experience compared to most of the pitchers that are on the Red Sox as well. As long as he continues to pitch in simulated games before the start of the 2020 season, McHugh can be huge for this team.

Red Sox RP Darwinzon Hernandez:

Darwinzon Hernandez originally signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2013, as a 16-year old. Now he is 23 years old, competing in his second season with the Red Sox.

After a strong Spring Training in 2019, he made his major league debut as a reliever back in April, throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings against the Tigers.

Hernandez was used mostly as a starter in the minors, which led to the Red Sox calling him up in June to make his first career start. He earned the loss after giving up 5 walks and 4 runs in 3 innings. The Red Sox ultimately decided he would be used as a reliever for the remainder of the season.

In total he played in 29 games (1 start) with the Red Sox in 2019. He went 0-1 with a 4.45 ERA while striking out 57 batters in only 30.1 innings pitched.

In Spring Training this season, Hernandez only made one appearance, pitching 1 inning and giving up 2 hits and 1 run. He has also pitched in 17 simulated games, where he has an ERA of 2 in 18 innings pitched.

He has probably the most upside out of all of the pitchers that are in the bullpen. He is someone that is primed to surprise many. He has been a highly touted prospect ever since the Red Sox signed him. If all goes well, he can be a pivotal part of the Red Sox bullpen in 2020.

Red Sox IF Michael Chavis:

Michael Chavis is another second year Red Sox player who will look to have a breakout season. He was initially drafted in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft. He slowly moved up the ranks in the minors despite dealing with injuries and an 80-game suspension after a failed drug test.

Chavis was called up on April 19, 2019 to make his major league debut, doing so a day later. He hit a double in his first career at-bat, as a pinch-hitter.

He stayed in Boston for the majority of the season, even winning the American League Rookie of the Month for May. In August, he suffered a shoulder sprain that kept him out for the rest of the 2019 season. Chavis finished the season with a .254 batting average, 18 home runs, and 58 runs batted in, in just 95 games played.

He is now fully healthy and ready for the 2020 season after having 31 plate appearances during Spring Training 1.0. Chavis had a .214 average.

We could see a breakout from Chavis because of the way he played right when he got called up last year. Before dealing with an injury, he was playing exceptional. Now that he is no longer dealing with an injury, he will be at the top of his game when the shortened season roles around. Hopefully he can take a significant step up for the 2020 regular season.