Most surprising Red Sox player of 2023 -- No. 4: Triston Casas
It was looking really bad for Casas after the first month of the season this year. In the month of April, Casas held the abysmal stat line of a .137 batting average, an OPS of .585, and 26 strikeouts in 73 at-bats. The Casas delegation became down-trodden and it seemed like all hope was lost as calls for Bobby Dalbec were coming from all directions. However, as the season went on, Casas truly turned into the dominant force at the plate everyone hoped he would be.
The main stretch to focus on is Casas after the All-Star break, and that's when Casas really threw his name into the hat for Rookie of the Year consideration. In 54 games after the All-Star break, Casas held a slash line of .317/.417/.617 (1.034 OPS!), hitting 15 home runs and driving in 38 runs in the span as well. Casas took home Rookie of the Month in July for the American League, and finds himself in the top 10 of the American League in on-base percentage, OPS, and OPS+ (among other stats), and truly looks like one of the best hitters in the American League at this moment.
Yes, Casas still needs to improve in the field and cut down on the strikeouts, but for everyone who doubted Casas after last year and has lambasted him for sunbathing, painting his nails, and being somewhat "eccentric," those doubters can go crawl back into whatever hole they live in, and get used to Casas being your everyday first baseman for the Red Sox. The franchise should do the right thing, and lock up Casas to an extension before he gets too expensive and dominates first base for a different lucky team.