MLB Fastball 08.24.07: Red Sox Rookies
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 08.24.2007
Josh Beckett, Manny Ramírez, David Ortiz, Jonathan Papelbon. These are some of the names that come to mind when the success of the Boston Red Sox this season is discussed. But the Red Sox have received great production from some of their rookies as well. In this week’s edition of MLB Fastball, I take a look at three of Boston’s first-year players and what kind of impact they have made on the AL East division leaders.
Red Sox' 2007 Rookies
First Year Players Of The AL East Leaders
Credit: Yahoo! Sports
Boston's Japanese prodigy – and $103.5-million man – has been one of the top rookies in this year's MLB class.
The Boston Red Sox were once a team that was running away with the American League East. They even had a double-digit lead over the New York Yankees, the perennial favorites to walk away with the division crown – mostly because they always do. But now, the Red Sox sit with a much more slim lead atop the AL East, with only five games separating them and the Bronx Bombers.
But despite where they sit now, within reasonable reach of being overtaken, the Red Sox have earned their keep as the best team in the AL East for most of this 2007 season. A dominant pitching staff and an offense good enough to give that pitching staff decent support has been huge when looking at where the Red Sox' season has taken them.
Most of the team's big names have been the biggest reasons why the Red Sox currently rank first in the AL East. Josh Beckett's 15-5 record with a 3.15 ERA instantly makes him one of the top Cy Young candidates in the American League. Tim Wakefield can also boast at having 15 wins on the year, though his ERA is near the mid-fours and he also has 10 losses. Jonathan Papelbon's second year as closer has been almost as successful as his first, brandishing 30 saves and a 1.77 ERA with only two blown saves on the year. Offense has been a weaker point for Boston this year and the numbers are not quite where we're accustomed to for the normally bigger bats in the Red Sox' lineup. But "Big Papi" David Ortiz, Manny Ramírez, Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis have been leading the charge at the plate with a good mix of power and contact.
The money players have made their presence felt.
But one thing the Red Sox could not guarantee was the play of their rookies. The Red Sox have a lot of their success in large part because of their veteran stars. But it's the support of their rookies that have really put them over the top and allowed them to be such a big force in the AL East the entire season. In fact, whether it is at the plate, on the mound to start a game or on the mound in the late innings, the Red Sox have had a player step up in his first year and provide valuable production to the team.
Three players that have stood out and are right at the top of the list in AL Rookie of the Year candidacy are starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, setup man Hideki Okajima and second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
The biggest name among those three is, without a doubt, Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Red Sox went through a bidding war just to be able to obtain negotiation rights from Matsuzaka's former-Japanese club, the Seibu Lions. After putting forth the winning bid at $51.5-million, the Red Sox were left to negotiate a contract with Matsuzaka's agent, Scott Boras. Though there were some hurdles along the way – most notably the fact that Boras refused to consider the posting fee as part of Matsuzaka's contract while Boston wanted to, the Red Sox and Boras were able to work out a number that pretty much doubled Boston's costs for obtaining the prodigy. On a six-year deal, Matsuzaka is set to make at least $52-million – potentially up to $60-million, which brings the Red Sox' total cost for him to $103.5-million at the very least.
So far, it's been money well spent for Boston.
Right now, the Red Sox can credit Matsuzaka for a lot of their starting pitching success. Beckett has really been their breakthrough star this season with his 15 wins and 3.15 ERA. But Matsuzaka has come on strong in his first year with a 13-10 record, 3.76 ERA and team leading 172 strikeouts. His best month came in June when he landed a 1.59 ERA through five games, and his season on an overall basis has been fairly impressive.
He hasn't exactly been the dynamite pitching force he was hyped up to be during the offseason since teams have been able to figure him out a bit. But, some growth and maturity in the MLB will just make Matsuzaka stronger than he has already been and I think Boston will be able to count on him as at least a No. 2 in their rotation throughout the duration of his contract, and perhaps his entire career.
And since he's technically only raking in about $8.667-million a season since that bid price goes right to his former Japanese club, Matsuzaka is making a relatively cheap salary in comparison to both the other pitchers in the Majors and the financial landscape baseball is running under today. Of course, Boston doesn't see it that way since they know they're paying out double for him. But to know that Barry Zito right now is making about $10-million more a season out in San Francisco in salary is somewhat mind-boggling when you look at the production.
Matsuzaka is currently tied for 10th in the AL in wins (15), 16th in ERA (3.76) and fourth in strikeouts (172.)
Matsuzaka is not the only Japanese pitcher to make an impact in Boston this season. In fact, an argument could, and likely is being, made that Dice-K is not even the best Japanese rookie playing for the Red Sox this season.
In the bullpen, one could find one of Boston's best-kept secrets that it has thus unleashed on the league this year. That secret is Hideki Okajima – Boston's top option for setup duties even despite the team's acquisition of the now-struggling Eric Gagne.
Boston didn't have to bid for the rights to negotiate with Okajima. The team only had to sign him to a deal since he was already a free agent. And boy did they get a steal by locking up the lefty on a two-year deal at $2.5-million with a club option for 2009 at $1.75-million.
Ever since giving up a home run to John Buck of the Kansas City Royals on his first pitch in the MLB, Okajima has been pretty much as solid as a reliever can be. He has established himself as probably the best reliever overall in the Red Sox organization behind only Jonathan Papelbon, has won AL Rookie of the Month for April, made the AL All-Star Team via final vote in his first year in the league (though, he did not play) and now is even garnering some attention in Cy Young Award talks. I think that last part would be a stretch considering he's not even the most notable Red Sox player coming up in discussions for the AL Cy Young Award. But his name being thrown out there as a non-closing reliever is still pretty impressive in its own right.
Okajima currently sits atop the Red Sox' stats in ERA with a mark of 1.19. He also has a 3-1 record, four saves and 52 strikeouts in 56 games and 60.2 innings worth of work.
Along with Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen, the Red Sox have been able to put forth one of the best young late-relief cores in the entire league. Gagne's addition was supposed to further enhance an already well-off bullpen. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Gagne has had his fair share of struggles since coming over from the Texas Rangers.
Regardless, Boston's three young workhorses have established a solid foundation of late-inning relief for years to come, especially if the Red Sox nix all plans of trying to work Papelbon into the starting rotation like they wanted to do this season.
On offense, Dustin Pedroia has been a very nice surprise. Though he hasn't put forth Boston's best numbers at the plate, he does lead the team in batting average with a .323 mark. That stat also ranks him third among second basemen in the entire league.
He only has six home runs and 38 RBIs, but he has hit 27 doubles, scored 58 runs and given a tad bit of hustle with five stolen bases. That's a lot of good secondary production from a player not named Ortiz, Ramírez, Lowell or Youkilis. He even managed to win the AL Rookie of the Month Award for May.
Last season, Pedroia played in 31 games and had 89 at bats with the big club – neither of which were enough for him to be considered a rookie. He didn't really embark on the pro level in grand fashion at that time, only hitting .191 at the plate.
But with second base the one hole left open in Boston's infield – and Mark Loretta no longer with the team, Pedroia had the opportunity to come back to the big club.
Outside of his offense, he has also seized the opportunity in the field. He helps round out a pretty solid defensive infield that also boasts Youkilis at first, Julio Lugo at shortstop and Lowell at third base. Pedroia's .990 fielding percentage is right on par with some of the best second basemen in the MLB.
It's clear that Pedroia will probably never be a cornerstone player for the Red Sox. He will never be the team's best overall bat in the lineup and may not even be the top producer of highlight reel plays in the field. However, Pedroia is a great role player for the Red Sox, much like Robinson Canó is for the Yankees.
And the role player type numbers Pedroia can produce on a yearly basis will become increasingly valuable to the Red Sox as he continues to get better and mature within the team's system.
Boston's three top rookies have really come through in ways I don't think the Red Sox counted on. Matsuzaka has potentially done the most for the team and is certainly growing as a great No. 2 punch to Boston's ace in Beckett. Okajima has done something nobody even remotely expected him to do and that's become a dominant late-inning phenom to bridge toward Papelbon. And Pedroia has grown a little bit from his poor numbers in the minimal starts he had last season to the team's leader in batting average, a great source of extra offensive production behind the big names on the team and a solid starter at second in a good defensive infield.
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