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Red Sox: Three players to watch against the Yankees this weekend

By Brendan Mizgala

MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 15: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Miami Marlins during his major league debut at Marlins Park on September 15, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 15: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Miami Marlins during his major league debut at Marlins Park on September 15, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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red sox christian vazquez
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 25: Christian Vazquez #7 of the Boston Red Sox runs the bases after hitting a two-run homerun in the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington on September 25, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez

With all of the bats that are seemingly automatic right now for the Red Sox, my selecting Christian Vazquez may seem out of nowhere. Hear me out though, Vazqy has been getting sneaky hot. Last week against the Phillies he went 4-4 with four singles and hit a monster bomb against the Rays recently as well. He went through a spell where he just couldn’t get it done at the plate and much of that felt like he was trying to do too much. We’ve all seen it where a guy shows some power and then only wants to hit moonshots which causes him to hit damn near nothing.

Vazqy has things seemingly figured out though as he’s back to finding ways to get himself on base and knock-in runs while also flashing some power here and there. His season stats (.265/.327/.397/.725) aren’t too far off of the career year he posted in 2019 (.276/.320/.477/.798). His five homers and 15 RBI also have him near the top of the stat sheets as far as Red Sox hitters are concerned.

Vazquez’s defense is also right where it usually is, which is at the top of the charts. He owns a .997 fielding percentage behind the dish, which is one of the highest of his career. Boston’s backstop has once again lived up to his reputation of being one of the best at keeping the base paths empty as he’s caught 9 of 28 attempted stolen bases. That gives him a caught stealing percentage of 32% which is well above the league average of 25%.

With his defense being at it’s absolute best and his bat getting white-hot, I think Vazquez can give the Yankees some serious headaches this weekend. He’s made it clear that he wants to retire with the Red Sox and finishing the year as strong as possible could go a long way in getting him the contract that makes that a reality.

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