The Never Weres

The Red Sox are having a surprising season. As of Tuesday, their record is 49-40, third in the AL East but they currently hold the third and final wildcard spot. They have been an exciting and young group to watch. Three of those players have been selected to the All-Star game next week in Arlington. If you look at the team and the league, the three players selected are the right ones. I don’t think there were any snubs (more on this soon).

The first player is Rafael Devers. This is his third trip to the All-Star game. He is the face of the franchise and is having his best season yet. Sporting a slash line of .292/.377/.591, .968 OPS and is 7^th in all of baseball with a .402 wOBA. Not to mention his demolishing of the Yankees this past weekend at Yankee Stadium. He leads all third baseman with a 3.3 fWAR. Jose Ramirez is the best third baseman in baseball, but Devers is separating himself as the second best.

Tanner Houck was selected to his first mid-summer classic. This was another no doubt choice. Houck has been a Cy Young candidate since Opening Day. He is 4^th in fWAR for pitchers (3.2). He has only had two starts where he has given up 4 or more earned runs. His ERA and FIP are the exact same at 2.68. He has emerged as the team’s ace, something they have lacked for the last few years. (Please don’t look at the NL pitchers and who is representing the Braves).

How about the turnaround for Jarren Duran? Called up in 2021 but didn’t stick until last season when he started to break out, but a toe injury ended his season. In 2024 he has been a revelation.  Duran is hitting .275 with 10 HR/10 triples/24 doubles and 21 steals. He has played in every game so far. He is the epitome of a leadoff hitter. Having him paired with David Hamilton and Ceddanne Rafaela at the top and bottom of the order has ignited the recent stretch of winning baseball we have seen.

These three players are the right players. If any of them weren’t selected, they would be at the top of the list of snubs. But, at the same time, I think any additional players may have been too many for a team that is only on the cusp of a playoff berth. Cases could have been made for Kenley Jansen or Connor Wong but they were in crowded fields. Wong has only appeared in 65 games, he has produced in that time but Rutschman is a legitimate star for the best team in the AL and Salvador Perez is out slugging Wong, looking more like the player he was in the 2010s.

Jansen has been lights out, but the pitching slots generally go to starters. In this case Emmanuel Clase (Cleveland), Clay Holmes (New York) and Kirby Yates (Texas) made it as relievers. Jansen could still make it if there is an injury, but it was a tough group to crack.

I am happy with the players representing the Red Sox. I think the right players are going. I think that it is awesome that they were selected by players and coaches. Lets hope that they each get to have some sort of moment in the actual game.

Photo by Maddie Malhotra