Two players on the Boston Red Sox are making strong cases to finish 1-2 in American League Rookie of the Year voting. The top of the list belongs to Masataka Yoshida, who is having a stellar season and in the hunt for a batting title with a .313 average.
First baseman Triston Casas could be making a late-season push in challenging Yoshida for the award.
A rough night on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants (0-4, 3 Ks) does nothing to diminish what Casas has been doing as of late. Evidence of his tear was on display in Boston's Friday night victory. This 2-4 performance included driving in two of Boston's three runs, the second coming off a home run after moments earlier fouling a ball off his shin.
July has been a scorcher for Casas but his current level of production stretches slightly further back in the 2023 season.
Casas: A stellar seven weeks
The rookie season for Casas was looking bleak back in early to mid-June. The Red Sox had just suffered a 4-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies and Casas was fresh off a three-game stretch of going 0-11 and dropping his average to .197.
Scary numbers aside, it wasn't all bad to that point. Casas had a keen, patient eye at the plate and had been unlucky with some hard hit balls that turned into outs. He was displaying decent pop (seven home runs) and, while frustrated, kept mentally dialed in.
The patience has paid off.
Since that game, Casas has been locked in and on a torrid stretch. The Red Sox rookie has hit safely in 24 of 32 games he's played since, holding a .349 batting average. Casas has 12 multi-hit games and swatted nine home runs while driving in 21.
July has seen even more of an improvement from Casas. Heading into the final two days of the month, Casas is hitting .350 with seven home runs and 13 RBI. Saturday's loss also marked the end of five straight games in which Casas had driven in a run.
Prior to Saturday's game, Casas had an OPS of 1.335. Patience has also continued, with 11 walks, and Casas has scored 16 runs.
Overall, the numbers are much closer to what one might expect for a decent rookie season. In 91 games, Casas has 73 hits and is batting .253. His 16 home runs are tied with Justin Turner for second on the team and Casas has added 15 doubles and two triples.
Casas came up with a chance in the ninth inning to put the Red Sox in the lead. He struck out and, while disappointing, there will be plenty of chances this season for Casas to leave his mark. And a mark will be needed, as he is integral to Boston's chase for the playoffs.
Boston Red Sox chase playoffs
Boston had their five-game winning streak snapped with Saturday's 3-2 loss. The Red Sox bats went quiet for the most part, collecting only three hits until the ninth inning.
Trailing 2-0, Yoshida pinch hit and drew a walk. Jarren Duran continued his journey into the land of doubles with his 30th of the season. Turner followed with a single, tying the game by driving in Yoshida and Duran.
Rafael Devers and Casas failed to move the needle and Kenley Jansen was brought in to keep this game tied.
J.D. Davis promptly greeted Jansen with a left field shot on the first pitch, sending Boston home with the loss.
At 56-48, the Red Sox remain in fourth-place in the highly competitive A.L. East. They are seven games back of first-place Baltimore and 2.5 back of the Houston Astros for the final Wild Card spot.
The trade deadline is August 1 and many are still looking for the Red Sox to make their move. They are in need of starting pitching and some of their targets (namely from the Chicago White Sox) have already been moved. There is discussion, too, of where the Red Sox should move James Paxton (they shouldn't).
Reinforcements are on the way, too, for Boston with the tentaive returns of Chris Sale, Trevor Story, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck, making this team ripe for a playoff run in '23.
Closing out this west coast swing with four games (one with the Giants, three at Seattle), the Red Sox need at least a split. After that, a ten-game home stand awaits, including the Toronto Blue Jays. A 7-3 mark during the home stand is the baseline wish to have. This should move them past the Blue Jays in the standings, and set up Boston for a good spot when they later hit the road for ten straight games (with games against the Astros and Yankees in that set).
The dog days of summer are nearly upon us and for Casas and the Red Sox, it means the best is yet to come.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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