Xander Bogaerts was a model of offensive consistency in 2015.
Xander Bogaerts: Rolling 10-game averages in 2015
Zack Greinke is ridiculously good
Zack Greinke can beat you with any one of 5 excellent pitches, and if he also wants to humiliate you he might throw you an eephus pitch too.
Zack Greinke and the eephus pitch (Sept 1, 2015)
Jacke Bradley Jr has trouble with down-and-out pitches
Bradley adjusted his mechanics and started hitting the inside fastball. Pitchers counter-adjusted and have been pitching him down and out. Bradley will need to reach those pitches if he is to be a productive major-league hitter.
Fastballs to JBJ before, during, and after his breakout month
What’s Wrong With Junichi Tazawa?
A couple days after I asked What’s Wrong With Setup Man Junichi Tazawa?, the Red Sox announced that he would be shut down for the rest of the year due to overwork.
Junichi Tazawa fastball location, first vs. second half
Wade Davis is a pretty good pitcher
Kansas City Royals Setup Man Wade Davis is having yet another superb year.
Wade Davis: Fastball vs cutter to right-handed batters
Rusney Castillo is solid
Rusney Castillo understandably looked a little rusty at the start of the season, but is looking like an above-average batter and defender now. I wrote about him at Rusney Castillo is Rounding Into Form.
Rusney Castillo batting against various pitch types
Rick Porcello is getting better results
I looked at what’s happened to Rick Porcello’s pitches on his return from the DL (Red Sox Starter Rick Porcello Can Still Be Dominant)
Rick Porcello: Spin direction and pitch speed per game in 2015
Jacke Bradley Junior and the inside fastball
Jackie Bradley Junior has changed his batting mechanics and has started to crush the baseball in locations he couldn’t hit before.
A Jackie Bradley Jr Renaissance
Jackie Bradley Junior hit chart
Joe Kelly and the pitch count
Joe Kelly has had a run of success. Is it partly because he’s becoming less predictable?
Red Sox Pitcher Joe Kelly: Pitch Usage
Joe Kelly: Pitch use vs pitch count
Matt Barnes’ major-league debut
In all, Barnes probably neither hurt nor helped himself with this outing. While he didn’t show himself to be a sure-fire starter, he also had many factors working against him, and showed a number of good points. While his future is more likely to be in the pen than as a starter, he showed signs that he does have a major-league career ahead of him.
—Red Sox Pitcher Matt Barnes Made His First MLB Start