The 2021 series on team offense continues with the the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox finished eleventh in the majors and fifth in the American League in 2020 with 4.87 runs scored per game.
I am using RotoChamp as a source of default lineups. That Alex Cora order is plugged into the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) using Musings Marcels as the batter projections. That information produces the following results (Runs per game):
- Best lineup: 5.38
- Probable lineup: 5.31
- Worst lineup: 5.11
- Regressed lineup: 4.80
The Red Sox pretty much nail the lineup, capturing 74% of the maximum value. A number of the top thirty LAT batting orders have Alex Verdugo and Xander Bogaerts setting the table. A number of those same lineups put Rafael Devers in front of J.D. Martinez, except in the four and five slots instead of three and four. Most of the top lineups bat Hunter Renfroe sixth.
The Renfroe slot offers a chance for the Red Sox to improve as the season progresses. Renfroe offers power, but at a high cost of outs. If Boston finds itself competing for a playoff slot this season, this would be the position to upgrade.
Offense won’t be the problem for Boston this season, and fans may be pleasantly surprised with the competitiveness of the team.
You can follow the data for the series in this Google spreadsheet.
Previous posts in this series: