MLB Power Rankings: Red Sox tumble after disappointing month
The Red Sox remain below .500 as the calendar flips to June. Here's how they stack up against the rest of the league, according to several national outlets.
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MLB Power Rankings: Red Sox tumble after disappointing month originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Red Sox will spend June digging themselves out of the hole they put themselves in last month.
They’ll enter Monday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels with a 29-32 record after going 11-17 in May. Although they bounced back by taking two out of three against the Atlanta Braves, their inconsistency makes it difficult to believe better days are ahead.
Their schedule won’t get any easier in June. After the three-game set vs. L.A., Boston will head to the Bronx for its first series against the New York Yankees this season. From there, it will host the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays and the Yankees before a tough West Coast trip against the first-place Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, and Angels. The Red Sox will wrap up the month at home against the second-place Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds.
Here’s how Boston stacks up against the rest of the league in the latest batch of national MLB Power Rankings:
ESPN (Buster Olney): 18th
“Fair or not, the Rafael Devers situation is defining Boston’s season so far. The highest-paid player in the organization’s history, moved to designated hitter against his will, has declined to take ground balls and build more flexibility into the roster. Instead, everyone else is expected to move — more specifically, rookie Kristian Campbell, who is learning to play a corner infield position on the fly and taking grounders before games. Devers, meanwhile, has played a corner spot his whole career. Is it shocking that Campbell might be overwhelmed as he tries to hit as a rookie? He’s batting .120 in May.”
CBS Sports (Matt Snyder): 20th
“The series win over the Braves snapped a five-game losing streak.”
MLB.com (Will Leitch): 21st
“The Red Sox offense is starting to warm up, and it’s not surprising to see who is leading the charge. He might not be playing the field, but that seems for the best, because Rafael Devers sure has taken to the DH spot: He’d tied for the MLB lead in RBIs (52), which is particularly impressive because he’s also leading the AL in walks. The problem is, of course, everything else with the Red Sox right now: They have fallen all the way to fourth in the AL East.”
USA TODAY (Gabe Lacques): 20th
“Getting a little ridiculous we haven’t seen Roman Anthony at Fenway yet.”
theScore: 19th
“The Red Sox dropped six of seven to close out the month, finishing a miserable 11-17. Their middle-infield tandem of Kristian Campbell (.355 OPS) and Trevor Story (.432) finished last and next to last, respectively, among 169 qualified hitters during May.”
Roto Baller: 19th
“The Boston bats have gone cold lately, but they still sport the 6th-best offense in terms of runs scored. That offense has helped them hide a bad rotation that lacks any reliable starters after ace Garrett Crochet.”
