Boston Red Sox All-Decade team 2010s: The starting infield
By Gio Rivera
Third-Baseman: Rafael Devers (2017-2019)
The youngest yet perhaps most electrifying player within the past decade when taking into consideration the fact Rafael Devers is just 23 years old, way ahead of his prime.
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With that being said, it’s truly unreal to witness what Devers has managed to do and how he’s been able to mature at the plate, becoming one of the most dangerous left-handed bats in all of Major League Baseball.
Since being called up at an age where Rafael Devers was below the legal drinking age, he had concerns from scouting reports all around. His aggressive, non-patient approach which would make his strikeout prone. His mediocre defensive abilities.
In just his second season, first full-year, Devers batted 58.1 percent of his fly balls to the opposite field in 2018, then 57.4 percent in 2019. His MVP ballot worthy 2019 season saw Devers hit a career-best .311 with 32 home runs, 115 runs batted in, and 54 doubles. That was a +30 improvement from Devers’ 2018 double’s hit total. Not to mention Devers saw a +5.5 fWAR from 2018 to 2019, the highest in all of baseball.
One can’t help but be eager and thrilled to await the seasons to come from Rafael Devers as the Boston Red Sox third baseman. We’ll be talking about the next decade of Red Sox baseball when this guy finally reaches his 30’s.
What a thought huh?