Camaraderie prevalent with Red Sox
Matt Barnes, the club’s highest selection in 2011 at No. 19 overall, has a 3.64 ERA in 25 games. Three other classmates — catcherturned-outfielder Blake Swihart and pitchers Henry Owens and Noe Ramirez — have also seen action with the big club this season.
“Looking back on it, it is kind of special being part of that, because you see all the impact players who have come up and had success up here from that class alone,” says Shaw, a ninth-round pick.
And it might be beneficial for their development. Farrell believes players carry an increased sense of responsibility when they rise through the system of the team that drafted them or signed them as amateur free agents.
Many of them also establish a camaraderie and sense of purpose through the trials and tribulations of life in the minors together.
“We got used to each other; we became friends in the minors,” said Bogaerts, signed out of Aruba in 2009. “The friendships are very valuable. Jackie came up before I did, so if there’s anything we don’t know, you tend to go to guys like him because you’re a little afraid of the veterans.”
The Red Sox’s reliance on homegrown talent has become more pronounced in the last couple of years as Bogaerts, Betts and Bradley have found their footing in the majors.
After a rocky rookie season in 2014 — when he lost confidence after the Red Sox shifted him from short to third base upon acquiring Stephen Drew — Bogaerts finished second in the AL batting race with a .320 average last season and has further elevated his game in 2016.
He’s batting .359 with a .932 OPS and ranked led AL All-Star voting at his position in the latest tabulations. Bogaerts, 23, had a 26-game hitting streak that ended June 3 and was the majors’ second longest this season, after Bradley’s 29-game surge, the fourth longest in Red Sox history.
Bradley’s long-awaited emergence — he’s batting .311 with 10 homers and 43 RBI — has taken hold after three seasons of frustrating ups and downs that saw him shuttling between Boston and Class AAA Pawtucket (R.I.).
Always an elite defender in center field, Bradley has finally found success at the plate after batting a combined .213 with an alarming 221 strikeouts in 238 games spread from 2013 to 2015. Last year’s big August has carried over into sustained production, and Bradley has settled on a stance after repeated tinkering. What worked? “Going back to the basics,” says Bradley, 26. “Going back to what made me feel comfortable and staying athletic with it.”
Bradley and Betts said the Red Sox’s emphasis on learning how to win in the minors — not just putting up numbers to attract attention — translates into playing the game right and eventually getting promoted.
Shaw also pointed out the club is adept at preparing its prospects for the fan- and media-stoked caldron that is Boston.
Betts, an infielder in his first two full pro seasons before switching to the outfield in 2014, has found a source of fielding advice and a close friend in Bradley, a fellow Southerner who went to the University of South Carolina. Betts’ path to stardom has been much more direct, though.
A fifth-round pick out of high school in Brentwood, Tenn., Betts was persuaded to forsake college (Tennessee) by a $750,000 signing bonus, then defied projections inspired by his wiry 5-9 frame by belting 15 homers at Class A in 2013.
He proved that production was no fluke by hitting 18 homers and putting up an .820 OPS last season, his first full one in the majors, and has 14 home runs and 47 RBI, both tops among leadoff hitters in the majors, and an .863 OPS this season.
In a stunning power display May 31 and June 1, Betts tied a major league record with five home runs in two games.
“I’m somehow able to get a lot out of a small package,” says Betts, 23. “It’s a blessing God gave me, I guess.”
He was also blessed with excellent speed, a trait the Red Sox have exhibited more frequently than in the past as a way to diversify their attack and put pressure on opponents’ fielders. Boston’s 45 steals rank second in the league.
Farrell said that’s the result of an aggressive baserunning mindset trickling down through the organization, in much the way a sense of comfort has spread through the homegrown players.
“When you’re homegrown in an organization, everybody kind of knows you, and you’re comfortable wherever you go, every stop you make,” Betts says. “You know the guys, especially here. I’ve played with half these guys.”
And was drafted along with many of them.