Boston Red Sox 2018 player grades: Jackie Bradley Jr

Now a seasoned vet, Jackie Bradley Jr.of the Boston Red Sox was one of the many players who helped guide this team to a title in 2018.

A cursory glance at the stats of Jackie Bradley Jr. on offense won’t reveal anything exciting and his name won’t be among the league leaders. For the 2018 World Series champion Boston Red Sox, however, he’s one of the many players who adhered to their strengths to carry this team to victory.

For Bradley, it was his stellar play in the field, and of course an ALCS MVP to his name.

Bradley recently completed his sixth season in the MLB, with his defense and speed the main reasons for keeping him in the lineup. Since his breakout season in 2016 — in which Bradley put up his best offensive numbers — the numbers at the plate have leveled off.

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Batting again in the bottom third of the lineup the majority of the season, Bradley’s numbers saw a slight dip from 2017.

He hit .234 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI in 2018, only down a bit from the season prior. Bradley’s strikeouts rose from 124 to 137 and his on-base percentage was a tick off from 2017, but he also had more doubles in 2018 (33, up from 17) and stolen bases (17, up from 8).

Bradley again stepped up during the dog days of summer putting together a fine July/August. He had 44 hits in this span, batting .271 with five home runs. Bradley drove in 31 in this period, also scoring 32 runs and knocking 15 doubles.

Defense is where Bradley continued to shine. He had a .982 fielding percentage with 326 putouts. His nine assists led all American League center fielders. For his effort, Bradley was awarded his first Gold Glove Award.

But it was his performance in the 2018 ALCS that was best of all.

2018 ALCS and playoffs

Collecting three hits in a playoff series rarely garners a player an MVP award.

That is unless all three hits are timely and a player uses them to drive in nine runs.

Bradley did exactly that against the Houston Astros. It all started with a bases-clearing double in Game 2, propelling Boston to a 7-5 victory.

He took it one step further in Game 3, swatting a grand slam in leading the Boston Red Sox to an 8-2 victory. And it was a two-run home run in Game 4 that helped provide Boston with an 8-6 victory.

The performance in these three games may have endeared Bradley to even the most adamant of Red Sox fans who have derided his play over the years.

Overall in the playoffs, Bradley ended up hitting .200. He had one additional RBI, collected eight hits and ended with a .360 OBP.

There certainly can be moments of frustration when Bradley goes long stretches failing to hit above the Mendoza line. But with his exceptional play on defense and timely hitting, Bradley is a great anchor for the bottom part of the lineup.

Bradley struggled with his hitting in his first couple of seasons and the last two have been more along the lines of what is expected of him. He may cross the 20 home run barrier on occasion in the future, but his glove is the true asset.

If he can continue to hit near .250, with 15 home runs and between 60-70 RBI, his defense is more than enough to keep him around. FINAL GRADE: B