While the ceiling for Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers remains unknown with his prime years ahead, the 26-year-old has already established himself among the best third basemen in Major League Baseball.
Hence, the expectations have been raised rightfully so for the left-handed hitting slugger before the 2023 season.
On Thursday, MLB Network continued to release its annual “Top 10 Players Right Now” list. With previous Red Sox members — Mookie Betts and Kyle Schwarber — having already made the cut, Devers became the first current member to be listed.
Devers received his flowers after he assembled a second consecutive All-Star campaign. He batted .295/.358/.521 with 27 home runs and 88 RBIs in 141 games in 2022. Among third basemen across the league, Devers finished atop the leaderboard with an 8.0 expected weighted on-base average. On the defensive side, he registered a .964 fielding percentage through 393 chances.
Here’s the full top 10 list for third basemen, courtesy of MLB.com:
1. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
2. José RamÃrez, Cleveland Guardians
3. Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves
4. Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
5. Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals
6. Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
7. Justin Turner, Boston Red Sox
8. Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Yandy DÃaz, Tampa Bay Rays
10. DJ LeMahieu, New York Yankees
Last season, Devers also finished second among all players in baseball with 1,078 total bases — two shy of the league lead (Freddie Freeman, 1,080). Meanwhile, the Red Sox made sure to retain Devers this offseason through a reportedly mammoth 10-year, $313.5 million extension.
