Team-by-Team Fantasy Projections: Boston Red Sox

by theScore Staff
Winslow Townson / USA TODAY Sports

Here are the 2016 MLB fantasy projections for the Boston Red Sox (ZiPS projections courtesy Dan Szymborski; Steamer projections courtesy Jared Cross, Dash Davidson and Peter Rosenbloom; Zeile projections courtesy FantasyPros):

Hitters

C Blake Swihart

SOURCE R H HR RBI SB
ZiPS 48 102 6 41 5
Steamer 35 82 5 36 4
Zeile 39 90 6 38 4

Despite the fact that Swihart should be with the team from Opening Day on, his projections don't show much improvement from the counting stats he posted in 84 games as a rookie in 2015 (five home runs, 31 RBI). Still, the strong end to his season will likely be enough to make him a mid-round selection given the lack of depth at catcher.

1B Hanley Ramirez

SOURCE R H HR RBI SB
ZiPS 58 117 13 67 12
Steamer 61 121 18 67 7
Zeile 65 126 20 68 9

Ramirez hasn't played close to a full season in three years, but had 19 home runs and 53 RBI in 105 games in 2015. A career-low OBP of .291 should creep closer to his lifetime average of .367. It was a forgettable first season in Boston, but a move to first base should alleviate last year's misadventures in the field. He's a decent buy-low candidate as a mid-round pick.

2B Dustin Pedroia

SOURCE R H HR RBI SB
ZiPS 57 134 9 51 7
Steamer 70 143 11 60 6
Zeile 65 135 11 56 6

Injuries are the biggest concern with Pedroia, as he's missed significant time in each of the past two seasons. His batting average and OBP have remained remarkably consistent through his career, but his counting stats, most notably RBI and SB, have been in decline. He's still excellent when healthy, and is a mid-round pick in most mixed leagues.

3B Pablo Sandoval

SOURCE R H HR RBI SB
ZiPS 53 134 13 66 0
Steamer 59 132 14 64 1
Zeile 60 132 13 61 1

Sandoval had a lost first season in Boston, with all relevant counting and rate stats well below his career norms. Perhaps unsurprisingly, projections have him rebounding somewhat, and the ex-Giant will be a buy-low candidate as a mid-round selection.

SS Xander Bogaerts

SOURCE R H HR RBI SB
ZiPS 74 174 12 73 8
Steamer 79 172 16 79 7
Zeile 76 173 12 72 7

After Bogaerts' breakout 2015, projections show an uptick in home runs, but a slight drop in RBI as well as his OBP and batting average, though he'll still provide strong support in all three categories. He's among the best fantasy shortstops despite being only 23, and will be an early pick in all formats.

LF Rusney Castillo

SOURCE R H HR RBI SB
ZiPS 41 93 7 35 10
Steamer 46 104 9 47 10
Zeile 46 103 9 44 11

A much-improved third full MLB season is forecast for Castillo, who failed to offer much of anything fantasy-wise in 2015. He likely won't help in terms of batting average and OBP, but double digits in both home runs and steals are possible.

CF Jackie Bradley Jr.

SOURCE R H HR RBI SB
ZiPS 64 117 12 59 8
Steamer 49 96 9 46 6
Zeile 47 90 9 43 6

Bradley ended 2015 better than he started it, but questions remain over his power and batting eye. Last year's .249 average and .335 OBP topped his young three-year career, but both marks still don't portend breakout fantasy potential. Bradley doesn't represent much more than a late-round gamble.

RF Mookie Betts

SOURCE R H HR RBI SB
ZiPS 95 187 18 80 26
Steamer 100 181 19 76 26
Zeile 93 175 17 76 25

A terrific all-around fantasy contributor, Betts' OBP should increase somewhat from last season's .341. With power, speed and strong rate stats, the 23-year-old is an easy first- or second-round selection.

DH David Ortiz

SOURCE R H HR RBI SB
ZiPS 52 120 30 89 0
Steamer 74 129 25 83 1
Zeile 81 133 30 86 1

Now 40, Ortiz's projections show a significant dip in RBI (he's had at least 103 in each of the last three seasons), though his power and rate stats shouldn't fall off too much. Big Papi may be eligible as a DH only, which hurts his fantasy stock somewhat, but remains a solid early-to-mid-round selection.

Starters

LHP David Price

SOURCE GS IP K BB ERA
ZiPS 30 209.3 211 39 3.35
Steamer 32 215 219 44 2.96
Zeile 32 211 215 41 2.90

Signed to be the team's ace, Price is coming off an excellent season split between Detroit and Toronto. His WHIP projects to be slightly worse than last year's mark of 1.08, but he should strike out better than one batter per inning and have an excellent walk rate. He's easily a top-10 fantasy starter.

RHP Clay Buchholz

SOURCE GS IP K BB ERA
ZiPS 21 126.7 109 35 3.91
Steamer 28 167 143 45 3.65
Zeile 28 156 135 42 3.75

Buchholz didn't pitch poorly in 18 starts in 2015, but his health makes him impossible to rely on, as he's never made more than 29 starts in any of his eight full seasons. Even if he's healthy, the projections forecast a significantly worse ERA than last year's 3.26. Buchholz is a late-round gamble only in mixed leagues.

RHP Rick Porcello

SOURCE GS IP K BB ERA
ZiPS 30 187.3 140 39 4.18
Steamer 31 190 148 44 3.81
Zeile 31 183 142 42 4.11

Porcello's debut season in Boston resulted in his worst ERA since 2010 (4.92) and the first time he failed to record at least 10 wins. Despite a typically solid walk rate, he still gave up well over a hit per inning, resulting in a weak WHIP. He did have a high BABIP, so as a predominately ground ball pitcher, some better luck in that regard could help improve his ERA.

LHP Eduardo Rodriguez

SOURCE GS IP K BB ERA
ZiPS 29 167.3 141 46 3.98
Steamer 24 139 113 44 3.82
Zeile 24 159 128 52 4.29

Rodriguez had a promising rookie season, making 21 starts and allowing just under one hit per inning while winning 10 games on a last-place team. His ERA projections vary, with the consensus showing a slight-to-moderate increase over last year's mark of 3.85. He'll open the season on the DL, with Steven Wright likely to fill his rotation spot for the time being.

RHP Joe Kelly

SOURCE GS IP K BB ERA
ZiPS 22 126.7 103 49 4.26
Steamer 6 81 70 27 3.73
Zeile 6 83 67 30 4.07

Kelly looks set to open the season in the rotation, though the Steamer and Zeile projections in particular forecast a relief role for the ex-Cardinal. Despite 10 wins in 25 starts last season, his WHIP and ERA marks offered no help fantasy-wise. As it stands, Kelly is worth a look in AL-only leagues based on his solid spring.

Closer

RHP Craig Kimbrel

SOURCE IP K BB ERA
ZiPS 59.7 82 23 2.72
Steamer 65 86 24 2.63
Zeile 62 87 23 2.45

Acquired from the Padres in the offseason, Kimbrel is expected to bump Koji Uehara (25 saves in 2015) to a set-up role. Though he's recorded at least 39 saves in each of his five full MLB seasons, his rate stats project to get slightly worse from 2015's marks. He's still an an elite fantasy closer, especially if his ERA can revert to the sub-2.00 figure it was between 2012 and 2014.

The Digest

theScore's 2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit

by theScore Staff
Bob Stanton / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Fantasy baseball season is upon us - and theScore has you covered with the most comprehensive fantasy content offering available. Check back often, as we'll be updating our content offering daily until the season starts.

Positional Rankings

Where does each fantasy-relevant player rank? Look no further than theScore's position-by-position rankings, which include nearly 350 player projections for the upcoming season:

Team-by-Team Fantasy Projections

We provide fantasy projections from three well-respected sources - ZiPS, Steamer and Zeile Consensus - for key players on all 30 major-league teams:

AL East: Toronto | N.Y. Yankees | Baltimore | Tampa Bay | Boston

AL Central: Kansas City | Minnesota | Cleveland | Chicago WSox | Detroit

AL West: Texas | Houston | L.A. Angels | Seattle | Oakland

NL East: N.Y. Mets | Washington | Miami | Atlanta | Philadelphia

NL Central: St. Louis | Pittsburgh | Chicago Cubs | Milwaukee | Cincinnati

NL West: L.A. Dodgers | San Francisco | Arizona | San Diego | Colorado

Mock Drafts

Fretting over which player to pick? Our fantasy baseball experts offer a variety of mock drafts for your perusal (all drafts use 5x5 scoring format):

Fantasy Spotlight

Every major-league team has at least one player whose fantasy outlook is a major point of discussion. Here are some of 2016's most intriguing cases:

AL East: Chris Colabello (TOR) | Starlin Castro (NYY) | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | Chris Davis (BAL) | Steven Souza (TB) | Brock Holt (BOS)

AL Central: Alex Gordon (KC) | Byung-ho Park (MIN) | Francisco Lindor (CLE) | Brett Lawrie (CHW) | Justin Upton (DET)

AL West: Mitch Moreland (TEX) | George Springer (HOU) | Yunel Escobar (LAA) | Adam Lind (SEA) | Danny Valencia (OAK)

NL East: Neil Walker (NYM) | Daniel Murphy (WAS) | Giancarlo Stanton (MIA) | Freddie Freeman (ATL) | Maikel Franco (PHI)

NL Central: Randal Grichuk (STL) | Gregory Polanco (PIT) | Kyle Schwarber (CHC) | Chris Carter (MIL) | Devin Mesoraco (CIN)

NL West: Corey Seager (LAD) | Denard Span (SF) | A.J. Pollock (ARI) | Alexei Ramirez (SD) | Carlos Gonzalez (COL)

Fantasy Faceoff

Faced with choosing between two terrific draft options? theScore helps fantasy players answer some of the most difficult 1-on-1 decisions they may face at draft time:

Winning Strategies

Hoping to end that lengthy fantasy championship drought? Looking to extend your title reign? Here are theScore's guides on how to find success in a variety of league types:

Must-Read Fantasy Baseball Lists

Every good draft kit has its share of handy lists - and this one is no exception. Check out theScore's collection of informative and entertaining list material:

  • Preseason Rookie Report
    (Andrew Potter takes a comprehensive look at the top rookies in each league for daily and season-long fantasy purposes.)

Fantasy Baseball Tips and Tricks

Don't even try to walk into your fantasy baseball draft without going through theScore's exhaustive list of fantasy strategy posts:

  • How to Smartly Spend Your FAAB
    (James Bisson examines how to use a season-long free-agent budget, targeting players in leagues which use the FAAB format.)
  • Building a Winner Through Trades
    (James Bisson looks at how fantasy owners can use savvy trading as an alternative - or complement - to scouring the waiver wire.)

Daily Fantasy Strategy

No draft kit would be complete without a handy guide for those looking to give daily fantasy baseball a try:

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