Hot

Daniel Nava

Nava, who wasn’t even on the Red Sox roster entering spring training, has been quite the surprise since injuries have devastated the Red Sox outfield. Best remembered for hitting a grand slam on the first pitch of his first major league at bat in 2010, Nava has been raking ever since joining the big league club. Through 99 plate appearances, he has a .303/.444/.513 slash. Over the past 6 games, he has 5 doubles and a 1.072 OPS. His performance has helped to weather the injury bug.

Daniel Nava

Scott Podsednik

Much like Nava, Podsednik has done a bang-up job in place of the numerous injured outfielders. In 9 games played since May 22, Scotty P has hit .370 and stolen 3 bases. He has also played an adequate center field on defense as well. His wOBA is over 100 points higher than his career average so it is inevitable that he will come back to earth soon, but his performance thus far lands him on the ‘hot’ list. Continue reading »

Hot

Dustin Pedroia

I never miss an opportunity to fawn over Pedroia, and now is no exception. He has gotten a hit in each of the last 14 games, the longest active streak in the majors. He is hitting .350 during that span, with a pair of round-trippers and an OPS over 1.000. Of course, none of that should surprise anyone; the laser show has shown before that he’s capable of getting hot and absolutely raking.

Will Middlebrooks

Will Middlebrooks is rapidly growing into a star as a rookie. His ascension to the majors this year was accelerated by both an injury to Kevin Youkilis, and also by Middlebrooks incredible performance in Pawtucket before getting called up. In 10 games, the 23 year old third baseman has a .310/.356/.714 slash line, while belting 4 home runs and providing serviceable defense from the hot corner. Things will certainly get interesting when Kevin Youkilis returns from injury, as there doesn’t appear to be room for both players in the starting lineup. Continue reading »

Who’s Hot

Ryan Sweeney 

Even though Andrew Bailey is likely out until the All-Star Break, Ryan Sweeney has made Red Sox fans feel a lot better about the trade that sent Josh Reddick, Raul Alcantara, and Miles Head to the Oakland A’s for Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney. So far this season, Ryan Sweeney has hit .424/.472/.636 with 5 doubles and a triple in 33 at bats. He still can’t hit lefties and the homer run power obviously isn’t there (Sweeney has 14 career home runs), but the Red Sox don’t mind. He’s also been flashing the glove too and has been a more than reliable fielder thus far. Obviously Sweeney won’t keep up this torrid pace, but his early signs are very encouraging.

David Ortiz

For the last few years Big Papi has made me look like a fool for suggesting in the offseason that we let him sign elsewhere. He’s making me look the fool once again, and I’m not complaining. In 12 games so far, Papi is hitting .383/.423/.596 with a home run and 7 doubles. He’s on pace to hit 95 doubles, so that stat can show you how good he’s been so far. The best stat of all is how he’s hitting .462 against lefties. Although it’s only in 13 at bats, it’s a great sign nonetheless. Ortiz also hit better against lefties in 2011, so it’s a great sign that Ortiz has gone from being a platoon hitter (Ortiz’s OPS in 2010 against lefties was .599) to a hitter you can rely on to hit both lefties and righties.

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Hot

Jacoby Ellsbury

Ellsbury has been making his mark this season, reaching levels of an elite center fielder. Having added power to to his incredible speed, he could threaten to put up a 30/30 season. He has hit 8 homeruns in the past month and has a .977 OPS during that time. Walkoff hits in back to back games this past week certainly had fans all around the league taking notice of the best center fielder in the AL this season.

Dustin Pedroia

Pedroia has been putting on a Laser Show for months. Hitting .245 prior to the start of June, Pedroia has raised his average up over .300- partly aided by a 25 game hit streak. In 23 games since the All Star break, Pedey is hitting .400/.423/.610. Like Jacoby, he is making a strong case for MVP. Keep it up Muddy Chicken!

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Who’s Hot

Josh Reddick

Since getting called up on May 26, Reddick has absolutely mashed the ball. In his last 10 games Josh has hit .481/.531/.852 which has raised his OPS to 1.214 for the season. Reddick has struggled with major league pitching prior to this season, never managing to get his batting average up over .200 in 2009 or 2010. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come, and that maybe we have our future right fielder right before our very eyes. I just wish he was right handed.

Jon Lester

Lester has pitched his way back into our good graces. He has been a monster on the mound in his past 5 starts, surrendering just 9 runs in 35 innings pitched. That’s good for a 2.31 ERA and has brought his ERA on the saeason back below 3.50. His WHIP is a funky 1.000 during that time as well. Though he didn’t look all too great batting against the Phillies, I think we can let that slide when he goes out and pitches 7 shutout innings. Lester is on pace to win 20 games for the first time in his career. I think he gets there easily. Continue reading »

Who’s Hot

Clay Buchholz:

Buchholz is coming off of a fantastic May. In his last six starts, Clay is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA. Possibly most telling about Buchholz drastic trunaround is his control and elevated strikeout numbers. After an awful 0.94 SO/BB in April, Clay posted an electrifying 3.63 SO/BB in May. He has brought his WHIP down to a reasonable 1.318 after posting a bloated 1.852 WHIP in his first 5 starts.

David Ortiz:

Big Papi is absolutely raking right now.  He is 7 for his last 16 (.438 BA) with a 1.533 OPS. His slash line through his last 12 games is an awesome .370/.408/.804. During that time span he has 5 homeruns and had 4 more in the 10 games prior to that. Ortiz has been even killing left handed pitching, and he has a .894 OPS against them for the season.

Tim Wakefield:

His most recent start aside, Wakefield has been exceptional lately. In his past 3 starts, Shakey Wakey has a 3.00 ERA with a WHIP under 1.0 (0.966)! Tim is 2-0 in those three starts, while logging 19.2 innings. He did not allow a run in a 1.1 innings during his most recent relief appearance prior to those starts. Continue reading »