Red Sox’s Franchy Cordero Has Shot To Continue Lead-Off Success
Cordero has been unstoppable as a lead-off hitter in limited work
Boston Red Sox utility man Franchy Cordero has shown the ability to be an impact lead-off hitter in limited work, and will get an opportunity to further show what he can do on Wednesday at Fenway Park for the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds.
For whatever reason, Cordero has displayed more power in the lead-off role, typically occupied by Kiké Hernández.
"Franchy Cordero has led off six previous times in the big leagues, most recently in 2018. He's homered in three of those six games, and tripled in two others," The Boston Globe's Alex Speier tweeted on Wednesday.
Does that small sample size actually make it any more likely that he will record an extra-base hit? Boston better hope so, as it generated just one run in the last two games and is now four games under .500 after looking like it was on the precipice of turning its season around.
Cordero is hitting .260 with six doubles, a triple, two home runs, 12 RBI and a .763 OPS. He also has 16 runs scored with an opportunity to increase that number batting in front of Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts.
Cordero has +140 odds to hit the Over 1.5 total bases according to oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook. A $100 bet would pay out $240 if successful. He also has -120 odds to score a run, which is interesting given the aforementioned big three hitting behind him.
The 27-year-old slugger will look to provide a spark as the Red Sox attempt to get back on track and split the series with the Reds at Fenway Park Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it all on NESN.
