By and large, the Boston Red Sox have been very good at drafting and developing players. Just looking at the core of the recent 2018 World Series winners, which sported homegrown players like Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and Christian Vazquez. All of these players were significant contributors and in many cases, outright stars. But what’s one thing that’s glaringly obvious about all of them?
If you answered “none of them are pitchers,” congratulations! You’re correct! Going back further (and for the sake of this article, we’re going back twenty years to 2000), the Sox have drafted and developed players like Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Nomar Garciaparra, Trot Nixon, Kevin Youkilis, and Jason Varitek.