When Kiké Hernández Comes Back

I've seen Kiké spelled Kiké,Kiki, keekay, but this is the first time I've seen Kique

Who is playing RF is the question, no one knows I think yet. Kiké is still far enough out that it's not a story yet, but it will be in a few weeks.

The Sox could go full platoon in the OF or at least 2/3 of it anyways.

They could platoon Duran and Hernandez and they can platoon JBJ and Refsnyder.

Doubt they'll do that, but it seems to me that Duran and Hernandez play regularly with some sort of outfield alignment of Verdugo, Duran, and Hernandez.

My guess is that Hernandez sits against some righties opening up some time for JBJ. Against lefties Duran probably hits the bench in favor of Refsnyder, meaning a probable Verdugo/Hernandez/Refsnyder outfield alignment against southpaws.

Maybe JBJ gets more of his ABs at Fenway against righties although I don't know if that's some kind of small sample size fluke - JBJ is a pretty lousy offensive player in totality. However, he's perfect to come off the bench in late game situations and play stellar defense.

Verdugo can get an occasional rest. They could use Hernandez in the infield once in a while, but my guess is that it won't happen often, because if an infielder needs a rest, Arroyo probably gets the start. We don't need to see Arroyo in the outfield anymore.

Duran can come off the bench as well when they need speed. As a regular he gives them a potentially dynamic leadoff hitter, which they've been lacking this year and for awhile although Hernandez had a really good 2nd half and postseason.

So there is a way to mix and match and maximize what they do best. It would be nice if they had a set RF so they didn't have to do that, but what they have might work.

It's just weird seeing the Sox platoon at so many positions, which includes 1b where they have Franchy (who can play corner OF if need be) and Dalbec. All of this platooning makes me think that at some point Bloom either gets a RF or a 1b. I'm guessing he acquires a LH hitting 1b, as there should be a bunch of them available, although I'm not sure what they do with Franchy. Too bad Casas is injured and not an option for 1b.

I think he's good enough defensively that he gets plenty of run to see if his bat comes back.

Again, just to remind everyone, you can type the letters of how he spells it and the forum will add the accent mark. He spells it Kiké.

Arroyo is 'not hitting' on the surface, but the more predictive peripherals would indicate he is hitting much better than some others, but dealing with bad luck.

xwOBA:
Refsnyder - .497 (52 PA)
Verdugo - .363 (303 PA)
Arroyo - .350 (107 PA)
Dalbec - .312 (209 PA)
Kiké - .304 (238 PA)
Bradley - .294 (235 PA)

Barrel%:
Refsnyder - 15.4%
Arroyo - 12%
Dalbec - 8.6%
Kiké - 7.2%
Verdugo - 6.7%
Bradley - 5.3%

Along with the career high 12% barrel rate, he also has a career best 16.3% strikeout rate. When you look at the brutal reverse-splits of .139/.179/.278 (despite having superior numbers vs lefties previously) and .205 BABIP (.273 career) it appears more obvious that his poor numbers are luck driven and not a result of any decline. If anything, he may be better this year than last, but he hasn't been able to show it yet in results.

This easy answer is that you wait for career journeyman Refsnyder to cool off, but in the event that doesn't happen, you let him be the weakside platoon at 1B and option Dalbec. Dalbec has also been better than his numbers (another case of strange reverse-splits despite a partial platoon). This also keeps their assets in the case that Duran cools off, and we all know Dalbec could use more practice (not striking out) in AAA.

Refsnyder's SSS stats at 2B have been brutal (not great at 1B either, but hopefully that's luck as well) and having Kiké as the only backup IF at 2B (assuming Story shifts to SS) isn't ideal - so Arroyo gives the team better depth and a bat that looks good but hasn't awoken yet.