Boston Red Sox 2017 Player Previews: Mookie Betts

Mookie Betts made the jump from Boston Red Sox star to Major League superstar in 2016, so the next logical step is the jump to Most Valuable Player.

Mookie Betts was expected to improve in his third season for the Boston Red Sox, but few expected him to become arguably one of the five best players in baseball.

At the plate, on the base paths, and in the field, Betts proved to be one of the most talented players in the game and challenged Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels for the American League Most Valuable Player Award. Betts was the runner up for the award, finishing with 311 total points to Trout’s 356. He was the only other player to receive more than one first place vote, coming in with nine.

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Betts could be found all across the leaderboards for Major League Baseball last season. His .318 average was seventh overall and his 122 runs scored tied him with Toronto’s Josh Donaldson for second place, one run behind Trout. Betts was second in the league with 214 hits, led in total bases in 359, tied for sixth in doubles with 42, and drove in the fifth most runs at 113.

With 31 home runs and 26 stolen bases, Betts was one of nine players to achieve a 20-20 season in 2016 and the only one to take it a step further and complete the 30-20 feat. He finished second overall in the majors with 7.8 WAR, again behind only Trout. His 135 wRC+ and .897 were both highs of his short career and are likely not even close to his ceilings.

The breakout of Jackie Bradley, Jr. forced Betts to have to learn another new position: right field. After making the move from infield to center field to get him in the lineup everyday, Betts shifted over to right and surprised many by actually becoming the best right fielder in baseball. He led the league in Defensive Runs Saved at 32 (the next closest player was Adam Eaton with only 22). He was in the top ten in rARM (4) and in the top five among outfielders in RngR (how many runs were saved by a player’s range) with 9.1. Betts also had the second most outfield assists in the American League with 14.

A combination of speed, a quick first step, and arm strength add another dangerous dimension to the overall value of Mookie Betts.

Coming so close to winning the MVP makes it a bit difficult to predict what Betts will do in 2017. The next logical step is to win the award, but Trout is a difficult man to defeat. The good news is that any limit a fan can attempt to put on Betts can (and likely will be broken). After last April, Betts was hitting .266 with 22 strikeouts compared to only five walks, very uncharacteristic of his 12.1% to 7.3% career strikeout and walk ratios.

His start to the season did not scream “MVP-caliber”, but he was anointed the best player in the world by Boston fans when he was hitting .373 with fourteen home runs, nine steals, eighteen doubles, and 42 RBI between July and August.

Betts was practically a god after hitting five home runs over a two game stretch against the Baltimore Orioles (one game would be his first of two three homer games in 2016 and he would eventually reach a total of nine homers against Baltimore). A 20-20 season is an easy prediction to make, while a 40-20 season is not out of the realm of possibility. Betts will likely settle somewhere in between those and hit over .300 again, which is going to be key in replacing the lost bat of David Ortiz.

In simple terms, Mookie Betts can do anything asked of him. Expecting him to win the MVP after he came so close last year is fair, but Red Sox fans should simply appreciate the fact that Betts is dominating the game at only 24 years old.

Next: Boston Red Sox Name Reigning Cy Young Winner Rick Porcello the Opening Day Starter

One day, he will be expensive, but if his year-to-year improvements are any indication, one day Mookie will be the league MVP.

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