As the Boston Red Sox have officially completed the first three months of the season and begin the second half, what better way to honor that than to look back and reflect on what this team gave us in the first half? That's exactly what today's show is all about. Gabby talks about the team's biggest surprises in the first half of the season, such as Connor Wong and David Hamilton, who absolutely must have a better second half, like Masataka Yoshida and Brayan Bello, and she reviews Boston's move to claim Alex Speas off waivers from the Houston Astros.
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(upbeat music) - It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. - It's already July, what? - Join me as we look back on the first half of the season for the Red Sox and what's to come for this team moving forward. (upbeat music) - You are Lockdown Red Sox, your daily Boston Red Sox podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. - Hello and welcome to Lockdown Red Sox, your daily Boston Red Sox podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm your host Gabby Groba, former ESPN social media associate and current host of the Boston Balling Podcast as well. And I am here to bring you the latest in all things Boston Red Sox, Monday through Friday, straight to your favorite podcast feed. And you wanna know the best part, it's all free. So you can tune in every day to get the latest reaction and news on this Boston Red Sox team as Lockdown is your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily. That's right, there's something for everyone every day all summer long. Visit fanduel.com/lockdown to get started. And I'll be telling you a little bit more about FanDuel later on in the show, but first we have to talk about the fact that it's already July. Where has this year gone? I'm not even just talking about baseball season. I'm just talking about this calendar year in general and how it's just absolutely flown by. It's crazy to think about the fact that we are already in the middle of the summer. I love the summertime, I never want it to end. So I'm trying to enjoy the summer now while we have it. I hope you're looking forward to some fun 4th of July get together this week and hopefully you get to take some time off from your jobs and enjoy the weather and enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends. And the Red Sox are certainly looking at it and saying, "Wow, I can't believe it's July either." We're a couple weeks away from the all-star break and a month away from the trade deadline. And this year has been a very unique season for the Red Sox in that there's been some conversation about what do they do at this year's trade deadline? Are they buyers? Are they sellers? And what do they choose to do? And I was pretty adamant last week on one of the episodes about them being buyers at the deadline because I think they've done a lot over the last few weeks to show that they can be competitive. And not only that, but also the fact that they are getting players back healthy. Liam Hendrix presumably is supposed to be coming back before the season is over. Tristan Cossis is on his way back. So some key players coming back from injury that could help seriously contribute down the stretch. So as we start to think about the trade deadline and what that could look like for the Red Sox, on today's show I'm going to be going over the biggest first half surprises for this Red Sox team. Also taking a look at who has been a disappointment and needs to have a bigger second half in order for the Red Sox to put themselves in a good spot to contend. And lastly, I'm going to be looking at a minor move the Red Sox made. That's definitely worth noting because it's never too bad to have depth. So lots of things to discuss today. But when you look back at the first three months of the Red Sox season, one of the biggest words that could pop into my head about it has been frustrating. There have certainly been lots of ups and downs. And even though they've been playing overall good baseball over the last few weeks and putting themselves in a consistent place of being over 500 for the first time all year, that certainly has not come with a lot of easy times. I mean, this season so far, the Red Sox have been a very average baseball team and they've lost lots of frustrating games and they've made tons of errors in the field. And it got to the point where we didn't really know what this Red Sox team actually was. And I've always said early on in the season, it does take a while for a team to find its identity and for us to really know what the team's going to be. So this year's edition of the Boston Red Sox seems like they were just an average team. They were going to be staying a flow, getting at about 500 and staying there and probably missing the playoffs. But at this point now with how close they are in that playoff run and in those standings, they have an opportunity to make the postseason. And that is due to a few key players who have definitely been a surprise this year overall in terms of how good they've actually been. And the first player that really pops into my head is one of the biggest first half surprises for Boston, is Connor Wong. The Red Sox, when they traded Mookie Betts, got Connor Wong as one of the pieces back in that trade. And unfortunately, he's the only one still in the Red Sox system who was part of that trade, but they liked what they saw in him. He was a key prospect in the Dodgers organization and the Red Sox felt like he had a lot of potential and he certainly blossomed into a very talented catcher. And the playing time that he got last year, I feel like, helps with that. Because I said over and over again on this show during last season that when Reese McGuire got injured and Connor Wong had to step up and play more than he's used to, it gave him those reps and put him in a better position to succeed this year. So having the opportunity to have played more last year, I feel like, helped his confidence a lot going into this year. And he has just been phenomenal at the plate. I mean, he has a 327 batting average right now. Who would have thought that Connor Wong at the end of June would be sitting there with a 327 average. He has been one of the most consistent hitters on this Red Sox team. When they as an offensive unit haven't been hitting well, he still shows up as a guy who you know can consistently get on base and is going to get some of those big hits. And that's what I've appreciated a lot about Wong this year is he has developed a ton of plate discipline to the point where he's very much not afraid to take pitches. He'll walk when it's necessary. And he really makes opposing pitchers work, which is something that I like to see from a lot of different hitters. And I hope the Red Sox can develop more guys who can do that. So he makes it very challenging as an out. And that's something that's going to serve him really well moving forward. So he certainly has been one of the biggest surprises in that we always knew that behind the dish he was reliable. He has been a very good defensive catcher, but his offensive numbers weren't quite up to par with what people were hoping they would be in the past. So now that he's having this big season offensively, it's definitely been a key factor towards the Red Sox winning games this year. Another big surprise for me has been Willier Abreu. Last year, when he was a September call up, we saw glimpses of what he could do in that last month of the season. He definitely left a good taste in my mouth of his ability level and how he could contribute because he made a ton of noise at the plate and he was coming in there just looking confident and attacking that strike zone and really walking in offensively. And that's something I really liked about Abreu. And he's come in this year and just picked up where he left off. He has a 272 average currently on the year. He only has six home runs, but he does have 52 hits and 22 RBI. So he is driving in a lot of runs and he is getting himself on base. And the reason that's all a surprise to me is because you don't really know how a September call up is gonna look the following year. You don't know if they just had all this adrenaline and they were very excited and that excitement led them to play at a really high level over that month that they had their call up to Major League Baseball and then they come in to the next season and they just don't have that same level of energy because now it's sunk into them and they're on the everyday roster and they're going through the daily routine. So it isn't as much of a big deal to them at that point. So sometimes those types of players can slip back and not make as much of an impact. But the fact that Abreu has been able to make an impact consistently has been massive for this Red Sox team even though he ended up on the injured list for a brief period of time. He's since come back and has woken himself up again at the plate. He did struggle in those first few games since coming back from the IL but that's to be expected when you are removed from the game for a little bit after you're used to playing basically everyday. It makes sense that sometimes you could be rusty and need some time to get back into the swing of things. So he has definitely been a pleasant surprise here and I would say David Hamilton is somebody else who's been a surprise for the Red Sox. 268 average on the year with 44 hits, 15 RBIs and 11 walks, but he also has 21 stolen bases. And that's a number that I'm circling as his biggest asset to the team is just that speed and his ability to put a pressure on opposing pitchers because he is an immediate threat to steal every time he even gets on base. And that's something that is a good enough skill that's valuable enough to the point where the Red Sox won't wanna send him back down to AAA 'cause it's hard to justify sending a guy down to AAA who has helped score a lot of runs for the team. So we knew he had speed because he was able to showcase that last year when he had that brief stint where he was in the majors and had his opportunity. So we did know that he was fast, but for him to be fast and also continue to gradually develop at the plate, that's huge because this is a young Red Sox roster right now. They are relying on the development of some of the younger players and you don't know what that development is gonna look like for a bit and David Hamilton has certainly showcased from a development standpoint that he has the ability to contribute really well and can continue to elevate his game. So I like the fact that he's just gotten better and better with the more playing time that he's gotten and I think that's been absolutely key to his success. And finally, another surprising player for the first half this year is Cooper Chriswell. Now Chriswell is an interesting one because he originally was not even in the rotation and there were talks about him possibly getting a rotation spot before the season started, but then the Red Sox ended up going with Tanner how can Garrett Whitlock as their fourth and fifth starters. But then when Garrett Whitlock got his season ending injury, Cooper Chriswell came in and when I say that this guy has really stepped into his role and embraced it, I really do mean that. And he's back down at triple A right now, but I'd love to see him get called back up and get more of an opportunity because he has been so good as that fifth starter for this Red Sox team and you could know when he was out there that he likely was going to get the job done. And that's huge for somebody that we didn't really know what we were going to get from him early on for him to fill a shoes of a player like Garrett Whitlock who has been so valuable to this team. That's a lot of pressure, but he's come in here and he's embraced that role. So he certainly is one of the biggest surprises for this Red Sox team in a good way that has kept them in that wild card race up to this point. Coming up though, there are definitely some players on this Red Sox team that could have done better in this first half and are going to need to have a bigger second half to put the Red Sox in a good spot to contend. So that's coming up next. I love sports. I love them so much. I never want them to stop. But as the playoffs wind down, we get fewer games and the sports aren't sportsing like I want them to, but FanDuel lets me keep the sports going whenever I want. All I have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime I'm in the mood. And this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily. That's right, there's something for everyone every day, all summer long. So head over to FanDuel.com/lockdown and start making the most out of your summer. FanDuel official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. If you've been on FanDuel for a while, then you're one step ahead of people, which is awesome for you, but if you haven't gotten on it yet, what are you waiting for? It truly could change your life. Also subscribe to lockdown sports today on YouTube or Amazon Fire TV in the free Fire TV channels app so that you can stay caught up in all things going on in sports, no matter where you are or what time zone you're in, our local experts here at lockdown will keep you in the loop and all the biggest storylines. So make sure you check that out today. - You know we love talking stats here at lockdown Rockies. Here's one that's super simple to remember. Discover automatically doubles the cashback you've earned on your credit card at the end of your first year with cashback match. That means with Discover, you could turn $150 cashback to $300. That's right, you could put it towards some memorabilia you've had your eye on or treat yourself to a premium sports network. You earn and discover doubles. See terms at discover.com/creditcard. - We are discussing first half highlights for the Boston Red Sox as we finished the first three months and enter into the second three months of this long season. And there are definitely players who have pulled their weight to contribute like Rafael Devers doing what everyone expects and needs him to be endeavors. Rob Refsnader has been somebody who has been big and that's not as much of a surprise to me just because we always knew that he absolutely dominated lefties when he was at the plate. But the fact that he has been able to hit righties very well now too has been an absolute game changer. So he's been so desirable for the Red Sox to have in the lineup on a day to day basis because he just has been hitting very well, especially when he is on the road. So I like Rob Refsnader, I'm a big fan of him. And you could point to the outfield as a whole and say, you know, it's been a great group of players out there, especially defensively making really, really nice plays there like Abreu and Saddam Rafaela have both had their opportunities to step up and make very nice plays defensively. Saddam Rafaela I haven't even talked about yet, but he certainly has been a big surprise in the first half because of how quickly he's been able to develop. And his defense is what he was known for. That's why the Red Sox extended him and why they want him to be here longer term is because of his defense. But his offense that he's been providing this season, he definitely still needs work, especially on his plate discipline, still generating a ton of swings and misses. But overall, he's really starting to grasp what he needs to do at the plate. And I feel like he's gonna be a really special player for the Red Sox down the road. He's somebody who I'm looking for to be a big piece moving forward, especially because of his versatility. So lots of good pieces this Red Sox team has right now, but there are a couple of players who need to have a bigger second half and have been disappointing in the first half. And one of those players is Masataka Yoshida. He ended up on the injured list this year, so he has not been fully healthy all year. He's hitting 246 on the season right now, but that doesn't really show his numbers from just his time back since being on the IL where he's batting under 200 right now. And he has not been able to make a lot of hard contact with the ball. He is getting some high fly balls now. He has generated some more power, which is promising in a step in the right direction for him. But he has not been able to get over that hump of figuring out how to not be such a ground ball merchant and not hit into double plays a lot and just be able to get the ball to leave the infield. And he definitely has the means to be able to succeed. He just doesn't have the timing right now to be able to hit these pitches when he needs to. So that's something that I'm concerned about with Yoshida is this fixable or not? Because as a DH, he definitely needs to be hitting a lot better than he is. And the problem with the situation is they already signed him to this big contract. So they're stuck with him for another few years unless he ups his value a lot and they find a trade piece for him, but they signed him to this deal and they already have taken him out of the outfield primarily because he is not a good defender. So they didn't really have a choice but to upgrade his skills in the outfield with somebody else and they don't want him to be playing in the outfield anymore. So they've already made him primarily a DH while they're spending all this money on him. So the problem becomes now, if he doesn't improve at the plate, then this contract is gonna start to look very bad for the Red Sox that they're paying all this money for somebody who's just a DH that can't even deliver as a designated hitter. So there's lots of pressure on him and the Red Sox right now for him to be able to step up his offensive game. And I'm not trying to just sit here and knock on Yoshida because I do feel like there's upside there. I think if he figures it out, he could go off. It seems like there is just some sort of light switch that hasn't gone off in his head yet. But I think once it does, it's going to be a game changer for him. And he's gonna be able to hit a lot more consistently. I just worry that opposing pitchers have figured him out now and he hasn't been able to find his stride and he certainly has not been able to be consistent at the plate. So I'm looking for more consistency from him in this second half of the season, looking for him to fix his timing a little bit because he is just way off when he's swinging and missing. And I'm hoping that he can get a better idea where the ball is located and be able to start crushing them. Because when he signed with this Red Sox team, he was known for his power and being able to hit the ball over the fence a lot. And I worry that at a place like Fenway Park, he might have trouble doing that. And it's hard to rely solely on home runs and it's also hard to rely solely on the fastball because if opposing pitchers know that you struggle against other types of pitches, they just won't throw you those as much. So he needs to develop some more versatility at the plate in his skills. But if he can do that, then he could be a great DH for the Red Sox moving forward, there just are some concerns there. And I worry that this contract is gonna end up reflecting badly on the Red Sox down the road. Another player who absolutely needs to have a bigger second half is Bryan Beyo. I mean, he's sitting here right now with a 555 ERA on the season and a seven and five record. He has struck out 64 batters on the season, but he also has given up 29 walks and 11 home runs and 44 earned runs. He's kind of been a little bit all over the place this year recently. He had his shortest start of his career to date and he got absolutely knocked around by the Blue Jays. So we need him to do better because going into the season, people had high hopes for him in terms of the idea that he would be the ace of the Red Sox pitching staff and that he was gonna be the one that the Red Sox were gonna be able to rely on the most to go out there and get it done when he was pitching. And so far that has not been the case with him. He has had his struggles this year. And I don't know if there's something about adjusting to Andrew Bailey's system that he's having trouble with or if he's trying to change something about his routine and it's caused him to struggle more than he has in the past. But he has not been the most consistent this year and his command always hasn't been there either. So I'm hoping he can figure something out in the second half of the season. The Red Sox did give him some time in between his last start and his upcoming start tomorrow. So hopefully having the break, he was able to have time to figure some things out mechanically so that he could go back out there and pitch the way that the Red Sox would want him to pitch moving forward because as a pitcher, I feel like there's a lot of upside with him, but we're unfortunately not able to see how high that ceiling really is right now because of all these struggles he's been having. And do I think this is more the pitcher that he is? I still don't think so. I feel like he still has so much potential to be a very strong pitcher in this league. I just think there's been a lot of adjustments this year and he needs to get a better grasp on what's working and what's not working. So hopefully he can figure something out there because he is too big of a piece to the puzzle here to be consistently not pitching well because if he's not pitching well every start, then that's a tough situation for the Red Sox to be in because now you have a starter who is supposed to be reliable and hasn't been so then do you keep him in the rotation or do you put somebody else there? So I think that's something that the Red Sox are really considering right now is, what do we do about that situation? Do we let him continue to start or do we put him into a different role? So he needs to absolutely be able to gain more control over that strike zone and be able to lock in and not completely fold under pressure. That's another issue that I've found with him this year is he struggles with traffic on the bases and he doesn't know how to get out of those situations a lot. So there are some concerns with Bayo this year and the Red Sox rotation as a whole has certainly been a pleasant surprise in terms of how well they've actually been pitching but Bayo has not been one of those starters who has been pitching very well. So hopefully that can change for him in the second half because we need the version of Ryan Bayo that we've seen that's been so elite in the past to step up and perform because imagine having Bayo at the Brian Bayo level that we know he can be followed with Tanner Hauck who has had an unbelievable season and then Carter Crawford at number three. Those are three very good pitchers that can help lead this Red Sox team in the postseason if they were to make it this year. So there is lots riding on Brian Bayo improving this year. Hopefully he can figure out maybe why he hasn't been pitching as well this year in general as he has in the past but definitely a guy who needs to have a bigger second half Reese McGuire is somebody who's been a disappointment. He started off very strong at the very beginning of the season and then he fell off a bit because he almost came back down to Earth it seemed like and he has not been hitting well since then. And yes, he's a backup catcher and Connor Wong's gonna get a lot more of the playing time but when Wong isn't catching and it's Reese McGuire's turn, we wanna know that that catching spot is in good hands and he just has not been hitting well over the last couple of months and I wish he could figure that out because I had him on the podcast about a month or so ago and he was talking about his mechanics and what he's done to really improve at the plate this year and it was certainly enlightening because he had an established plan and it was working for him. I don't know if he just started to get away from that a little bit or what but I'm hoping that he can grow back into the catcher we saw early on in the season because that would be huge for a Red Sox team that needs a lot more things to go right if they're going to contend. They definitely have work to do. They need to be able to win games and string together good series wins against other good baseball teams and not just get blown out like they did twice over the weekend against the Padres. So hopefully they can figure that out because they definitely have the potential there to be a contending team. Coming up, I'm gonna be talking about a small addition that Red Sox made to the team for a player who likely might not see any time at all in the majors. So that's coming up next. If you want to play daily fantasy sports in a fun way with friends, prize picks absolutely is the place for you. 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That's code locked on MLB on prize picks for a first deposit match up to $100. Pick more, pick less, it's that easy, it's prize picks. Prize picks really will make it easy so you should check it out today if you want to win some big money. Here in lockdown, Red Sox, we pride ourselves on getting you the latest news for your team. Whether it's the off season, the draft, spring training, or the playoffs, it's year round. You know what else is year round, collections season. Just because tax season is over doesn't mean the IRS will stop coming after you for unfiled taxes. The IRS can garnish your wages, levy your bank accounts, and even seize your property. Don't let the IRS target you, let the licensed professionals and tax experts at Tax Network USA go to bat for you. I'm an independent contractor here with locked on, and that could be a very complicated situation to file taxes for, and tax network USA has been an absolute lifesaver for me ever since I started working here. With over 14 years of experience and an A-plus rating by the Better Business Bureau, tax network USA has saved their clients over $1 billion in tax debt. Whether you owe taxes, have complicated matters that require tax planning, or finally hit that parlay this season and need help correctly filing, call 1-800-549-100 or visit tnusa.com/lockdown. Locked on, Red Sox will have you covered if you mention the show at checkout and you'll receive a $250 discount off their services. So you definitely won't want to miss that out today, so make sure you check it out. Also just a reminder to check out locked on sports today, the first ever National Sports 24/7 streaming channel. It's available on YouTube or Amazon Fire TV in the free Fire TV channels app, so make sure you check that out if you want to stay caught up in all things going on in sports. The Boston Red Sox made a minor move the other day. They claimed Alex Spee's off waivers from the Houston Astros on Saturday and optioned him right to AAA Worcester. He was DFA'd by the Astros last week, and although he'll remain in AAA with his new organization, he will claim a spot on the 40-man roster. He's a 26-year-old right-handed pitcher who has accumulated a very rough 10.38 ERA through 21.2 total innings in the minors while spending time with three different organizations. So borrowing significant improvement or return to the majors is unlikely. This is a small minor league move for the Red Sox, and the chances are that they are just seeing where he's at. If he doesn't pitch well, keep him in the minors. If he starts to pitch well, then it could be a bonus for the Red Sox because then maybe they could give him his chance up in the majors and it just creates more depth for the Red Sox down the road. So that's never a bad option is to have more depth in certain positions, especially pitching options because of the fact that the Red Sox pitching over all over the last few seasons has not been great. And Craig Ruslow seems to be prioritizing, picking up good, talented pitchers, and that's what he wants in the system, guys, who can come into the fold and be able to contribute in the long run. And Spies is probably not somebody who will see that time up at the majors, but say he improves drastically and he's able to come up and be a bullpen piece for this Red Sox team, then that would work out great because then Red Sox fans could sit here and say, "Wow, that's a great depth option." Somebody who kind of came out of nowhere that wasn't pitching well at all and is now contributing in the Red Sox system. And one thing I will emphasize is yes, he has been pitching pretty terribly, but the system that you're in can be part of that. I mean, it might be a better environment for him being in the Boston Red Sox organization. Maybe he can learn more easily that way based on the coaching styles there, or maybe he just can adapt to that area better. It could be a lot of different factors as to why players might succeed in one place and not another. So that could be another thing too. And there's no harm, no foul here. The worst that happens is he just isn't very good and they just keep him in the minors or just release him at some point. But Craig Breslow's thought process is probably, okay, he has some upside. Let's see what he can do to make an impact on this Red Sox team in the organization. Once we give him some time in AAA, if he's improving a lot, then maybe we give him an opportunity up at the majors and he could be a great piece for this Red Sox team. So they are definitely continuing to still look for depth. And when it comes to making moves, any little move they make is important. I mean, these players could end up being somebody who makes an impact down the road. So is these a minor signing for the Red Sox? Yes, but just keep in mind the fact that they definitely could use depth at any time. It's never a bad thing to have too much depth in your system. He likely will be able to work with some of the other pitchers that are down in AAA and hopefully help some of them be able to succeed and get to the point they want to be at eventually, which is the majors. And I also feel like from an injury standpoint, it's always good to have the security blankets as injury insurance. So speeds of somebody who maybe does get called up to the majors, if a player gets injured and he gets to showcase what he can do and utilize his skills that way. But if you look at his numbers on paper, doesn't make sense for the Red Sox to have him because of the fact that he just simply has not pitched well. But you can take solace in the fact that different systems sometimes affect people differently. And we've seen pitchers make a big turnaround when pitching elsewhere because it might just be a different environment and better environment for them that ends up being the factor. So you don't really know how he's going to be, but it was an important thing to bring up because of the fact that the Red Sox do struggle with pitching depth a lot of the time. Craig Russell probably didn't really overthink it and just said, hey, we could use this guy in our system and he's available. So we might as well pick him up and see what he can do. Maybe he'll surprise us. Maybe he'll be somebody that we could see ourselves putting onto the regular Red Sox every day roster at the major league level. So minor move, but Craig Breslow is definitely working. He needs to figure out what he's going to do at the trade deadline and how he's going to handle that. I know what the fans would want. I know what I would want. And that is for them to be buyers, but ultimately it is up to Breslow in the Red Sox front office. And if they don't see this team as being a team that could contend, then they absolutely won't give up some of their key assets in the farm system to acquire a player or two. This team is good and it's hard to justify giving up on them. So hopefully he makes the right decision, which is to add a couple pieces at the deadline to go around these Red Sox players who have worked so hard all season long and want to be in the playoffs and want to win. So if this move works out for the Red Sox, great. If not, that's okay, because they didn't give up anything for him and he'll just hang out in the minors for now. But it's always good to have arms that you can pull from in certain situations like when somebody gets injured and isn't available or lots of guys are being overworked in the bullpen. If you have guys in AAA who could be ready to come up and pitch at the major league level, that is an absolute bonus. So definitely not a bad move by the Red Sox, definitely a good depth piece in Worcester and he can help elevate the games of some of the other players who are in the minor league system, hopefully. So we'll see what happens there. With the Red Sox having three months of the season down and three months to go, it should be a very exciting finish to the rest of this season and to see who gets into the playoffs and who doesn't. So if you want the Red Sox to be in, which we all should, I assume you do, if you're listening to this show, then you have to keep the faith. Go Red Sox and I will catch you on the flip side. (silence) (silence) [ Silence ]
