Bogaerts “Mr. Everything” for Bosox

Last offseason, the Boston Red Sox committed a large sum of money to two free agent sluggers in Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, trying to fix an offense that was ranked in the American League’s bottom half in 2014.

In 2015, those two big signees have struggled mightily. Instead, the offense has been paced by a second year player, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who is coming into his own as a Major League player.

The 22-year-old Aruban has been one of the few bright spots on a disappointing last place Red Sox team that was supposed to be competing for the AL East division title. Bogaerts has played in 127 games this season, putting together a .319/.349/.414 slash line.

Ever since signing with Boston as an amateur free agent at the age of 17, Bogaerts had been ranked a top prospect in the Sox’ farm system. In his first professional season in 2010 with their Dominican League affiliate, Bogaerts raked at a .314 clip. In his second season with the Sally League (A-ball) Greenville Drive, Bogaerts saw his average dip to .260, but he showed off his hidden power with 16 taters in 72 games.

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In 2012, Bogaerts would play at both the A-advanced and AA levels. With A-level Salem, Bogaerts played 104 games, batting .302 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs — the eighth most RBIs in the league despite not playing a full season. He also posted the fourth highest OBP (.378) and second highest slugging percentage (.505) in the Carolina League.

That production earned him a promotion to AA Portland, where he finished the year playing 23 games. Bogaerts put on a show in the small sample size of games, going 30 for 92 (.326) at the plate. He also smashed five homers, drove in 17 runs and owned a .948 OPS.

Bogaerts started the 2013 season in AA where he had no problem picking up where he left of the previous year. In 56 games, he slashed .311/.407/.502. He then made the jump to AAA with the Pawtucket Red Sox, again proving that the hype surrounding him was more than just talk. He played 60 games in the International League, accumulating a .284 average to go with nine longballs and 32 RBIs.

On August 20th, Bogaerts, the eighth best prospect in the minors at the time according to Baseball America, was finally called up to make his Boston debut. With the Red Sox losing six of their last 10 games before the call-up, they hoped Bogaerts could spark the team and help them hold their slim lead in the division.

The shortstop played 18 games the rest of the way for the Sox, batting .250 with 11 hits in 44 at-bats and seven runs scored. He was able to play his way on to the Red Sox postseason roster, as the club won the AL East by 5.5 games.

Bogaerts would immediately play a huge role in the playoffs, scoring two runs, (including the winning run) in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays to give the Sox the series, three games to one.

In the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers, the 20-year-old played a big-role in limited action, scoring four runs and smacking three hits (all doubles) in six at-bats. In Game 5 of the ALCS, Bogaerts would become the youngest player in Red Sox history to start a game. The Sox were able to defeat the Tigers in seven games and move on to the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Bogaerts received even more playing time in the Fall Classic, playing six of seven games in a thrilling series which ultimately saw the Red Sox claim their third world championship in ten years.

With 2013 starting shortstop Stephen Drew holding out for a bigger contract offer, Bogaerts entered the 2014 season with a lock on the position. He had a solid showing in spring training and looked to build on his 2013 experience in the bigs. But things didn’t go according to plan, as Bogaerts struggled at the plate for much of the season.

Over 144 games, he hit .240 with a .297 OBP. He also struck out 138 times, compared to just 39 walks. Still, he was just 21 years old, and the Red Sox as a team weren’t all that good themselves, plunging from a championship to a last place finish.

If his poor 2014 performance made Sox fans worry that Bogaerts wasn’t everything they imagined, the now 22-year old has put any of those worries to rest with a strong bounce back season in 2015. His .319 batting average is tops on his club, and is second behind the Cleveland Indians’ Michael Brantley in the AL batting title race.

Bogaerts has been Mr. Everything for the Red Sox this season, even during a disappointing year for the division favorites. Bogaerts ranks first on the team in both WAR (3.4) and hits (159). He ranks second in runs scored (60), and is third in doubles (26), RBIs (63) and total bases (206).

The remarkable thing about Bogaerts’ season is that he seems to be getting better with each passing month. He hit .274 in April, .275 in May, .312 in June, a scorching .371 in July, and .324 in August. And though he isn’t hitting home runs the way he did in the minor leagues, Bogaerts told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that it isn’t a concern of his right now.

“I’m not worried about power,” Bogaerts said. “I’m not really swinging for power. Maybe once a game, depending on the situation, I’ll take a shot at it. I know it’s there. I have not worried about that at all. It will come together.”

Instead, Bogaerts is focusing on hitting the ball the opposite way, something evidenced by FanGraphs spray charts.

“Once I started getting a lot of hits the opposite way, I got away from it,” Bogaerts said. “I was driving in runs doing that and when I came up in those situations, I was able to do that.“

Bogaerts comes in to the series against the Phillies on a tear, with 12 hits in his last 28 at-bats (.429). He’s also slugging .536 in his last seven games.

In the opening series at Citizens Bank Park this past April, Bogaerts went 4-11 with a triple, four RBIs and a run scored. Two of the pitchers Bogaerts faced in that series, Cole Hamels and David Buchanan, are now out of the rotation for the Phils.

Bogaerts is an especially tough out at home, where he is hitting .346 with a .376 OBP. In this series at Fenway Park, Bogaerts will be facing the Phils’ Adam Morgan, Alec Asher, who makes his second career start, and Jerad Eickhoff in the Sunday matinée.

The Phils-Bosox series gets started Friday night at 7:10 p.m. at historic Fenway.