Rafael Devers is the player the Red Sox wanted at third all along

Welcome to the 2017 MLB postseason, baseball fans! You’ve spent 162 games with your favorite team, and now it’s time to watch the teams you haven’t paid much attention to. Who are these teams, and who are their best players? We can help.

Who is Rafael Devers?

Devers is Boston’s 20-year old third baseman and sometimes designated hitter. After spending a few years impressing anybody who was paying attention to him in the minors, he got called up to the show in late July. While many Sox fans were excited to have Devers in the system, and considered him the future, there was some surprise that the Red Sox decided to make “the future” a part of the team so early. Fortunately, it worked out.

What did he do this year?

After being called up in July as a stopgap for Boston’s issues at third while it found a more permanent solution on the hot corner, Devers proved that he was capable of being that permanent solution. After his promotion, he hit .284/.338/.482 with an OPS of .819 in 58 games. He also drove in 34 runs and hit 10 home runs in that span. He also committed 14 errors during his time at third base, more than a few of which can be written off as caused by rookie yips.

Compare these numbers with Todd Frazier’s stats after he was traded to the Yankees (instead of the Red Sox getting him) before the trade deadline: .222/.365/.423 with a .788 OPS, 11 home runs and 32 RBI, and a .962 fielding percentage in 66 games. Everybody got what they needed, miraculously.

How did the Red Sox acquire him?

The Sox signed Devers when he was 16 back in 2013 for a $1.5 million signing bonus. In 2014 he played in the Dominican Summer League before being promoted to Boston’s Gulf Coast League team. He played in Low-A Greenville in 2015, the High-A Salem Red Sox in 2016, and then powered through his time with both the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox before the July call up.

Was he always supposed to be this good?

Yes and no. Lots of people expected him to be this good in the majors eventually but that he did so after an unexpected call up and before he turned 21 wasn’t totally in the cards. When he was signed, Devers was ranked sixth out of the top 50 international prospects at the time, so it’s not like he was ever off the radar as far as young talent goes. At each level of the minor league circuit he thrived, but thriving at the top level still seemed a bit of a way off based on the anticipated Sox strategy. Instead, Boston got that expected greatness ahead of schedule.

tl;dr

Even though everybody knew Devers was the future, that future came early and he more than proved himself during an important few months for the Sox this season. He’s already hit clutch home runs, pulled off incredible defensive plays, and further solidified an exciting youth contingent that also includes Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Andrew Benintendi.