The Boston Red Sox are cutting payroll left and right, but they won’t be giving away Rafael Devers anytime soon as he’s the best young third baseman in baseball. Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Devers’ and the Red Sox’s 2020 MLB season – assuming there is one – and an overview.
Rafael Devers Awards Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- AL MVP Award: Devers is +3000
- Odds to win AL East: Red are +1200
The Red Sox signed the 16-year-old free agent Devers in August 2013. At the time, he ranked sixth overall among the top 50 international prospects and agreed to a $1.5 million deal. Devers was considered by some scouts to be the best left-handed hitter available on the international market despite being just 16.
On July 24, 2017, Devers was promoted to the Red Sox, five days after the team released Pablo Sandoval. On July 26, Devers collected his first major league hit, a home run off of Andrew Moore of the Mariners. In doing so, Devers became the youngest Red Sox player (at 20 years, 275 days old) to hit a home run since Tony Conigliaro (at 20 years, 265 days old) in 1965.
finished his rookie year batting .284 with 10 homers and 30 RBIS in 58 games. The next year, Devers appeared in 121 games, batting .240 with 21 home runs and 66 RBIs. However, he led the major leagues in errors with 24 and had the lowest fielding percentage among major league third basemen, at .926. Devers did perform much better in the 2018 postseason, becoming the fifth player to hit at least three home runs before his 22nd birthday. In Game 5 of the 2018 ALCS, Devers hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning, helping to send the Red Sox to the World Series – which they won.
Last year, Devers finished the season with 201 hits and a .311 average, along with 54 doubles (leading the AL), 32 home runs and 115 RBIs, and he led the major leagues with 90 extra base hits and 359 total bases. He passed Ted Williams (86 in 1939) for the most extra base hits by a Red Sox player in a season before turning 23 years old. The only players ever with at least 90 extra-base hits before turning 23 were Joe DiMaggio (96 in 1937) and Alex Rodriguez (91 in 1996).
’ 32 homers tied Conigliaro (1965) for the most by a Red Sox in a season before turning 23. Devers’ 201 hits were the most by an AL player under 23 since Alex Rodriguez (215 in 1996). There have now been 28 200-hit seasons in Red Sox history, recorded by 15 different players.
was the 1st player to record 200+ hits in a season, all before turning 23, since Starlin Castro in 2011 with the Cubs and the 1st AL player to do so since Rodriguez in 1996 with the Mariners. Devers was the 2nd player in MLB history with 30+ HR and 50+ 2B in a season, all before turning 23 (also Rodriguez in 1996 with SEA, 36 HR & 54 2B). The only other third baseman in MLB history, regardless of age, with 30+ HR and 50+ 2B was Houston’s Alex Bregman, who did so in 2018. The only other players in MLB history with 50+ 2B in a season at age 22 or younger were Rodriguez (54, 1996) and Manny Machado (51, 2013).
was criticized heavily in the World Series winning campaign of 2018 for his weak defensive capabilities at third base, and while he did lead the majors in errors at third again last year, his fielding percentage jumped from .926 in 2018 to .946.
The 23-year-old’s current contract has him going into arbitration with the Sox for the next three years after the 2020 season, before becoming an unrestricted free agent before the 2024 season.
