There were a lot of low points last month for the Red Sox, but there were still some standout performances.
August was not the best month for the Boston Red Sox. They went just 13-15 during the month, losing six of their final nine games to close it out. The Sox are now 4.5 games back from the final Wild Card spot (counting the first couple games of September) and clinging to a 15.6% chance to make the playoffs, per FanGraphs.
In fairness, it wasn’t all August’s fault. The cracks had started to show in the second half of July, but this team is now facing an uphill climb for the last month of the season.
But we’re not here to talk about what’s coming or to even evaluate the team as a whole. We’re here to look at individual performances as part of our monthly player power rankings.
As always, these rankings are based primarily on on-field performance from the last month, with season-long production and overall vibes, for lack of a more scientific definition, mixed in for good measure. The rules are simple: Only players who appeared in at least one game for the Red Sox at the MLB level during August and are still with the organization are eligible. So, we must bid a fond farewell to Dominic Smith (No. 9 in last month’s rankings!).
That’s enough of a preamble. Let’s do some ranking.
35. Brad Keller (Previous Rank: Not Ranked)
Keller pitched eight innings out of the bullpen across two appearances in August without much success, allowing as many runs as innings pitched, although only six of those runs were earned. He’s also been on and off the roster but re-signed after being DFA’d last week.
34. Bailey Horn (Previous Rank: 28)
Horn was optioned three times during the month, most recently being sent back to Triple-A on Aug. 28. Overall, he posted a 6.23 ERA and 8.48 FIP in just 4 1/3 August innings.
33. Mickey Gasper (Previous Rank: Not Ranked)
Gasper is a 28-year-old infielder who made his MLB debut when he pinch-hit against the Texas Rangers on Aug. 12. He has gone 0-for-11 since getting promoted.
32. Lucas Sims (Previous Rank: 17)
Sims is on the 15-day injured list currently with a strained lat. The injury could be part of the reason the 30-year-old reliever was so bad in August (8.68 ERA and 6.39 FIP across 10 appearances).
31. Luis García (Previous Rank: Not Ranked)
Like fellow deadline addition Sims, García has struggled in Boston. Despite just a 1.9% walk rate during August, the 37-year-old right-hander posted a 10.13 ERA (6.46 FIP) across 10 2⁄3 innings before hitting the IL with elbow inflammation.
30. Josh Winckowski (Previous Rank: 24)
As you might have started to pick up on, a lot of Red Sox pitchers had ghastly Augusts. Winckowski was another one of them, logging a 8.10 ERA and 6.32 FIP across 13 1/3 innings.
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29. Chase Shugart (Previous Rank: Not Ranked)
Shugart pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed on earned run in his MLB debut on Aug. 15. The 27-year-old was sent back to Triple-A from there, but he was just called back up on Sept. 1 and, spoilers for next month’s power rankings, threw two scoreless frames on Sunday.
28. Brennan Bernardino (Previous Rank: 26)
Let’s start with the good news: Bernardino had a 32.8% strikeout rate in August! Unfortunately, he paired that with a 7.50 ERA and 7.42 FIP in 12 innings across 14 appearances.
27. Enmanuel Valdez (Previous Rank: 27)
Valdez spent most of August in Triple-A after logging seven plate appearances early in the month. But he is back with the big league club as of Sunday.
26. Romy Gonzalez (Previous Rank: 18)
Gonzalez’s positional versatility continued to be a boon in August. His bat? Not so much. The 27-year-old had just a 66 wRC+ while striking out more than 30% of the time in 48 August plate appearances.
25. Cam Booser (Previous Rank: 23)
Booser has been on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation since mid-August. He was having a meh month before that (4.05 ERA and 5.42 FIP in 6 2/3 innings).
24. Nick Sogard (Previous Rank: Not Ranked)
Sogard has made up for his very real offensive struggles (47 wRC+ in 56 plate appearances) by delivering slick infield defense.
23. James Paxton (Previous Rank: 21)
At least the veteran left-hander had one strong start before another injury mucked everything up for him. Paxton allowed only two earned runs over six innings in a 9-5 Red Sox win over the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 5. He was then pulled from his next start and put on the 60-day IL with a strained calf.
22. Justin Slaten (Previous Rank: 22)
Slaten is fresh off the IL and threw 1 2⁄3 combined scoreless innings in two late-August appearances after sitting out since early July.
Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
21. Danny Jansen (Previous Rank: 16)
Jansen’s name will be thrown about by fun fact purveyors for years to come, as he appeared for two opposing teams (the Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays) in a game on Aug. 26, the first time a player has ever done that. Unfortunately, Jansen’s bat was not nearly as fun in August (46 wRC+ in 46 plate appearances).
20. Cooper Criswell (Previous Rank: 13)
Criswell mixed things up in August, logging some time as both a starter and reliever. His overall body of work wasn’t the best no matter what role he played, especially as he walked more batters per nine innings (5.79) than he struck out (3.86) during the month.
19. Connor Wong (Previous Rank: 14)
Barring an absolutely hellacious September, Wong is going to end this season as an above average offensive hitter, which is no small feat for a catcher. However, we just saw what a rough month looks like for the 28-year-old, who had a 74 wRC+ in 89 plate appearances in August.
18. Rob Refsnyder (Previous Rank: 15)
Refsnyder put up a 90 wRC+ in August, which isn’t horrible for a backup outfielder but continued a worrying trend. The 33-year-old’s wRC+ has dipped every month this season. Now, again, as a fill-in guy, Refsnyder would be doing OK, but he had the eighth-most plate appearances on the team in August (65), so a September resurgence would really help.
17. David Hamilton (Previous Rank: 25)
Hamilton hit three home runs and stole seven bases while compiling a 117 wRC+ in August before a fractured finger sent him to the IL. Injury aside, the offensive work from Hamilton still isn’t enough get him to league average on the season following a dismal July, but he is at a 91 wRC+ on the year and he was tied for the fifth-most steals in baseball heading into games on Sept. 2. Things could be much much worse.
16. Greg Weissert (Previous Rank: 29)
You watch that play and tell me you wouldn’t run through a brick wall for Greg Weissert.
15. Tyler O’Neill (Previous Rank: 3)
The feast or famine O’Neill experience continued in August. We’ll start with the good stuff: O’Neill is up to 25 home runs on the season and continues to walk at a very healthy clip. Now for the bad: He struck out 44% of the the time in August only put up a 72 wRC+ with just three dingers.
14. Kutter Crawford (Previous Rank: 10)
Crawford was roughed up in first few starts of the month and then evened things out a bit, ultimately pitching the second-most innings of any Red Sox hurler in August (31 1/3). Despite righting the ship to a degree, his overall body of work in August was lacking (6.32 ERA and 5.50 FIP) as he continues to be a poster child for the Red Sox pitching staff’s swoon in the second half.
13. Nick Pivetta (Previous Rank: 7)
The Tyler O’Neill of pitchers, Pivetta was really solid in his last start of August, holding his own against Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal across six innings of two-run baseball. But his other efforts in the month were less strong, leading to an unsightly 5.23 ERA and 6.13 FIP in 20 2⁄3 August innings.
12. Zack Kelly (Previous Rank: 20)
Kelly had a solid August, logging a 2.45 ERA, 25% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate over 11 innings (and as many appearances). He also made his third stat of the year on Aug. 26, throwing three scoreless frames against the Toronto Blue Jays. However, his FIP (4.36) pointed to some good luck during the month.
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11. Ceddanne Rafaela (Previous Rank: 8)
Rafaela mainly played shortstop during August and pretty well at that. He also hit a big home run in an extra-innings win against the Tigers on Friday. Such clutch hits have not been frequent enough for the 23-year-old, who had a 78 wRC+ and a barely perceptible 3% walk rate in August.
10. Kenley Jansen (Previous Rank: 12)
Despite a few stumbles, August was a mostly solid month for Jansen. He recorded five saves to go with a 2.70 ERA and 3.37 FIP while allowing no walks and striking out more than 10 batters per nine innings.
9. Rich Hill (Previous Rank: Not Ranked)
The return of the eternal Dick Mountain deserves a spot in the top 10 at the very least, even if he did get beat up a bit on Sunday. However, that was a September game and we’re not counting those right now.
8. Triston Casas (Previous Rank: Not Ranked)
After sitting out since June 26, Casas returned from the IL on Aug. 16 and started hot, slashing .357/.426/.548 with a 171 wRC+ in his first 47 plate appearances. He then went hitless in 15 plate appearances while striking out 33.3% of the time to close out the month. In all, we’re talking about a 109 wRC+ in August, but with what we’ve seen Casas do before, I’d expect more of that first stretch soon.
7. Chris Martin (Previous Rank: 19)
Martin tied with Brayan Bello for the most fWAR among Red Sox pitchers in the month (0.5) as he logged 10 innings, no walks, 12 strikeouts and two saves while posting a 0.90 ERA and 0.77 FIP. That’s pretty dominant stuff.
6. Rafael Devers (Previous Rank: 1)
After ascending to the top spot in these rankings for July, Devers had a tough go of it in August (.216/.296/.412, 84 wRC+). Making matters worse, he may not be 100% healthy. Despite such an offensive slump, Devers is still nearing another 30-home run season while holding a team-high 145 wRC+ to go with 4.2 fWAR.
5. Jarren Duran (Previous Rank: 2)
If we’re just looking at his play on the field, Duran had an incredible month. He racked up nearly 2.0 fWAR in August alone and is nearly at an even seven on the season. He boosted his power numbers by launching seven home runs and is now the owner of a 20-20 season.
However, as I’ve mentioned before, there is an intangible element to these rankings, and the elephant in the room today is Duran’s actions on Aug. 11 when he uttered a homophobic slur at a fan. If you haven’t already, please read Matt Gross’ piece about how damaging such actions can have. How the incident and its aftermath were handled, by Duran, the Red Sox and MLB overall, wasn’t the best, but now it’s up to Duran to prove that he will put in the work to learn and do better. The light two-game suspension he served and a demotion in these meaningless rankings are beyond trivial to that.
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
4. Brayan Bello (Previous Rank: 11)
Slowly but surely, Bello has made his way up these rankings and now he’s at his highest point yet after a solid August. The crowning jewel was an eight-inning masterpiece on Aug. 28 against the Blue Jays. In the outing, the 25-year-old allowed no runs and just two hits and one walk while striking out nine.
3. Tanner Houck (Previous Rank: 4)
You can pretty much mark Houck down for at least six innings every time he takes to the mound these days. He went at least six frames in five of his six August starts and led the team in innings pitched during the month (35 2/3). That consistency made up for lackluster results (4.29 ERA, 4.80 FIP). Still, even if he’s fallen out of the Cy Young race, Houck remains the team’s top starting pitcher.
2. Masataka Yoshida (Previous Rank: 5)
Yoshida continued his revival in August, fueling a 147 wRC+ on the back of a .326/.381/.516 slash line, a low strikeout rate and 10 extra-base hits (four home runs and six doubles). When the books closed on the month, Yoshida was sitting with a .293/.362/.433 slash line and a 122 wRC+. In the future, folks will look at his stats and think he just had a strong season and not remember the slow start to the year.
1. Wilyer Abreu (Previous Rank: 6)
Abreu might just be my favorite player on the Red Sox right now, so you’ll have to forgive me for ranking him first. It’s not like he doesn’t deserve a high spot on the list, though. He slashed .282/.345/.551 with a 143 wRC+ and five home runs in August, all while playing excellent defense in the outfield and running the bases well. That’s pretty much been par for the course for Abreu, who is fourth on the team in fWAR overall this year after racking up nearly a whole win in August. Players like Devers, Houck and Duran may more frequently be in this spot, but Abreu deserves plenty of shine as well.