Are The Boston Red Sox The Best Team In The American League?
If you take a look at the American League standings, you can see that the Houston Astros still sit comfortably atop their competition, with a record of 76–48. However, there is a very good argument to be made that they aren’t the best team in the AL. Instead, the red-hot Boston Red Sox, fueled by a group of youngsters, may be the class of the league.
First, let’s take a look at why the Astros may not be as good as their record shows. Firstly, they didn’t make any major acquisitions at the trade deadline, while almost every other AL contender did. They brought in Francisco Liriano, who has had an awful year thus far, in attempt to bolster their bullpen. They just haven’t been able to stay healthy- they’ve had three stars (Dallas Kuechel, Lance McCullers, and Carlos Correa) miss a significant amount of time on the Disabled List. If those three aren’t 100 percent for the postseason, Houston has no chance.
Injuries aside, the ‘Stros have simply not been performing well as of late. They’re 7–12 in August, including three-game sweeps at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays and AL-worst Chicago White Sox. Carlos Beltran hasn’t been what they thought he would be, putting up measly .244/.292/.410 splits. Tony Sipp, one of their most-often used relief pitchers, has an ERA well over six. They are still a great team, but they are very clearly on the decline, and they’re deteriorating just as another AL team is finally maximizing its potential.
The Boston Red Sox entered the season as the team with the third-highest odds to win the World Series, thanks to an offense that was the league’s best last season, and the acquisition of superstar Chris Sale from Chicago. But, they got of to a slow start- David Price didn’t return from injury until June, 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello got off to a brutal start, and none of their hitters were taking leaps. Sale and closer Craig Kimbrel are the only player who have been excellent all season, absolutely dominating the opposition.
By the end of July, Boston President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski added two bats to the lineup that helped turn the season around, trading for Eduardo Nunez from the Giants, and calling up top prospect Rafael Devers. To put it lightly, they have both been excellent. Nunez is hitting .345 since the trade, and has filled the void left by Dustin Pedroia’s reoccurring injuries. And Devers has had one of the most impressive debut months in recent memory.
In just 21 games, he’s hit 8 homeruns, driven in 16 runs, and has done so with a .350/.416/.700 slash-line. And he’s performed in big spots as well- last week on ESPN, he went deep on a 102.8 MPH fastball from Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning to tie up a game that the Red Sox would win. The other huge bright spot in the Red Sox lineup is a very young outfielder; not MVP runner-up Rookie Betts, but rookie Andrew Benintendi. Once rated the best prospect in all of baseball, he’s proving that analysis correct. He was recently moved into the third spot in the order, which is fitting- he’s been Boston’s best hitter for a while now.
The Red Sox still have some concerns surrounding them- none of their starters have ever played well in the playoffs. Their bullpen is usually unreliable until Craig Kimbrel takes the mound. And the Astros were so good in the first half of the year for a reason. Don’t look now, though, because the Boston Red Sox may have overtaken the Houston Astros as the American League’s best.
