Wilyer Abreu, 55 (Platoon Corner Outfielder)
Wilyer Abreu is a left-handed hitter and was used primarily as a platoon bat last season. He had only 67 PA vs lefties in 2024. In his MLB career (2023-2024), he has a well below average .514 OPS vs lefties. While this is not ideal, his numbers vs righties tell a different story.
Abreu shows great power vs righties with a .495 SLG, and also walks at an above average 10% rate. He strikes out more than you’d like to see, but he performs well enough offensively for it not to be a major problem.
In 2024 he changed his approach a bit and was more aggressive – swinging more and ambushing first pitch more. This could be a contributing factor to why he was chasing more pitches out of zone and ultimately striking out more.
He also altered his batted ball profile and started hitting more fly balls. This allowed his power to better come through and his hard hit rate to improve.
I gave him a 55 on the 20/80 scouting scale because even though he is a platoon bat (which lessens value) he is well above average offensively vs righties. As a left-handed hitter, he will be starting most games.
Romy Gonzalez, 40 (Platoon Utility Infielder)
Romy Gonzalez is another platoon bat, but is a right-handed hitter. I’m not as high on Gonzalez as I am on Abreu, I have Gonzalez as a current 40 on the scouting scale.
While his numbers vs lefties are strong, he is weaker in terms of barrel awareness (bat to ball skills) and plate discipline. Even though he has an above average career .802 OPS vs lefties, he also strikes out 32% of the time and walks at a below average rate. He chases way more (8% more overall) vs average.
What I like about Gonzalez is his speed, which is in the 90th percentile of MLB, and his power. I wouldn’t describe him as a power hitter, but he has shown consistently above average raw power and hard hit rates throughout his Minor league and Major league career. Last season he had an elite 46% hard hit rate against lefties. And against lefties he is able to get the ball in the air 11% more than MLB average. So while there are some lingering weaknesses to work through, Gonzalez has some really intriguing qualities.
Justin Slaten, 60 (Middle Reliever)
Justin Slaten is a righty relief pitcher and had an excellent 2024. I don’t know if he is still under the radar, but he may be getting overshadowed by some of the bigger names in the Red Sox bullpen.
His 4% 2024 walk rate ranks in the top 3% in MLB. He shows an ability to get guys out via strikeout and with ground balls, which is an intriguing combination.
The image on the right in the graphic above is from Baseball Savant and shows the movement of Slaten’s pitches compared to MLB average. His fourseam gets more ride than average, his cutter more gloveside cut, and his curveball more depth. His fourseam and curveball also have above average velocity at 96mph and 84mph on average respectively. The sweeper is his weakest offering, it gets below average sweep and the worst results of the four pitches in terms of opponent SLG and run value. But overall, Slaten still has three very strong offerings.
While he isn’t currently slated to close games, if something happens and someone gets injured, I can easily see a pathway for him setting up and/or closing this season.
Who are some other under the radar Red Sox players to watch this season?