Red Sox: Five most disappointing players from 2020 season
By Sean Penney
Red Sox infielder Michael Chavis
Fans love the Ice Horse. He’s a great kid with talent that he’s shown in flashes but opposing pitchers have caught up with him and he struggled to adjust this year.
Plate discipline remains the greatest concern for Michael Chavis. He’s still learning to lay off the high fastball that he hasn’t consistently shown he can catch up with and he’s chasing too many bad pitches. His 31.6 K% was the 11th-highest in the American League and his 5.1 BB% was 10th-lowest.
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The result was a .212/.259/.377 slash line. Players who strike out that much better be able to draw walks. If you can’t do either, hopefully the free-swinging nature leads to home runs. We know Chavis has the power to hit the ball out of the park but he only tallied five homers and 12 extra-base hits in 158 plate appearances.
Chavis lost playing time at first base with the emergence of Bobby Dalbec. He filled in at second base on occasion but he’s not an ideal fit at that spot. The Red Sox tested him in left field but there won’t be an everyday spot available to him when Benintendi returns next year.
It’s getting hard to see where Chavis fits on this team as anything more than a utility player off the bench. The best prospects in the Red Sox farm system are infielders, as are the two best position players on the current major league roster. The 25-year-old deserves more time to figure it out at the plate but the Red Sox might not have the luxury of giving him that time with so many other options available