Boston Red Sox: Adam Duvall swinging the bat like a cleanup hitter
Everyone that is associated with the Boston Red Sox should be happy with the first series of the season. After a crushing opening day loss, the Red Sox bounced back with two straight wins to take their first season opening series since 2018.
One new Red Sox player that made quite the difference in the first three games of the season was outfielder Adam Duvall.
Duvall had the walk-off homerun on Saturday night to give the Red Sox a 9-8 win. He also went 3-5 with two RBI’s and two runs scored in the Sunday afternoon win.
On the series, Duvall went 8-14 (.571 average) and could realistically be looking at being American League Player of the Week.
With all of this information to consider, here’s one thought that I’m sure a lot of Red Sox fans have on their mind. Adam Duvall should be the cleanup hitter for the Boston Red Sox going forward.
Boston Red Sox having an ideal cleanup power hitter in Adam Duvall
When J.D. Martinez left for the Dodgers, it was hard to figure out who would be the cleanup hitter in this Red Sox lineup.
Rafael Devers wasn’t going to be that guy, as he is sitting in the two/three hole for the 2023 season. I do like what I’ve seen out of Masataka Yoshida so far. But I really do think Duvall is that guy that you can have right in that four hole.
Duvall has shown in the past that he is an ideal MLB power hitter. Hit a lot of homeruns and strike out a lot in the process!
If Alex Cora and the Red Sox can deal with all of the strikeouts, then Duvall can hopefully produce at a high efficiency level for the 2023 campaign.
Boston Red Sox having a more balanced lineup with Adam Duvall cleanup
With the way the Red Sox lineup is now, I feel as though it can be even stronger and more well-balanced if Duvall assumes the duties as the cleanup hitter.
Want your voice heard? Join the Chowder And Champions team!
If you moved Yoshida up to the two hole and put Devers three and Duvall four, that makes for a very scary lineup for the first four hitters.
Then throw guys like Triston Casas, Justin Turner, and Kiké Hernandez into the 5-6-7 slots and that makes you even more dangerous!
The Red Sox are going to pride themselves on scoring runs as an offense. So why not give yourselves the best lineup every single night?
I think Duvall is the guy in the four hole going forward. It makes too much sense for it not to happen!
Next. All eyes on return of Chris Sale. dark
This Red Sox team is going to be fun to watch if they’re scoring runs more often than not.
Sure, there will be some nights where the bats go quiet. But Duvall can help drive in runs and keep the offense going.
Again, I know only three games have been played so far. But why delay something when you can see it right in front of your eyes?