Who Has Been the Biggest Surprise of the First Half?

In reaching the 50-win mark before the All-Star break, the Red Sox surely did not take the route that many expected.

Battling more injuries than some teams face in two seasons, the Red Sox have gotten their wins from unlikely sources, particularly Adrian Beltre, Clay Buchholz, and call-ups Daniel Nava and Darnell McDonald.

The Red Sox expected Beltre to be a solid contributor and fixture in the lineup at third base, but few in the organization or fan base saw this performance coming. Last year, he had 44 RBIs all season with Seattle. He already has 55 thus far in the 2010 campaign. He is batting .332 — a career best — along with an OPS of .912.

While the expectations for Buchholz may have been higher than was the case for Beltre, he has surely exceeded them. Although he recently has gone on the DL with a strained hamstring, the young ace is leading the AL with a 2.45 ERA, nearly two points lower than his mark for last season.

The replacements, Daniel Nava and Darnell McDonald, also deserve major consideration for “biggest surprise.” Nava has actually had a better average this year with the Boston Red Sox than he had in his 2010 stint with the Pawtucket Red Sox. McDonald too is having by far the best season of his journeyman career.