It’s safe to say the Boston Red Sox lineup has exceeded expectations thus far in the 2021 Major League Baseball season.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield ranked the Red Sox lineup No. 2 on his list of MLB’s “scariest so far” in 2021. While J.D. Martinez is enjoying the hottest of starts, teammates like Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo also are sizzling. With just under half the lineup in a groove, it’s easy to understand why Boston was MLB’s second-highest-scoring team after two-plus weeks of action.
“The big positive is J.D. Martinez is raking (.383/.439/.800, six home runs) after struggling mightily in 2020,” Schoenfield wrote. “With Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and Alex Verdugo, the Red Sox already had a moderately high floor. Martinez gives them a chance to have a great offense. The jury remains out on Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec.”
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle projected ahead of the season the Red Sox would have baseball’s eighth-best lineup. So far, they trail only the Cincinnati Reds on the “scariest” list.
Dalbec went 2-for-3 with a triple Tuesday night in Boston’s 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. If he and Cordero start heating up, it only would make the lineup more formidable as the season progresses.
