One thing to watch for Bogaerts.
He was in the 47th percentile for HH% in 2022, hitting the ball hard 39.5% of the time. Not great, but he puts the ball in play a lot and is a skilled hitter, so you can live with that. In 2021 he was in the 65th percentile, at 42%. 2018-2019 he was in the 70th percentile. Very good. But you see the trend.
Last year he was in the 18th percentile with a HH% of 34.6. Not good, but he's a skilled hitter, so he more than got by.
This year? 6th percentile, at a HH% of just 25.5%. That's horrific, worse than Pablo Reyes. 5th worst in baseball for qualifying hitters. (Last year he was 20th worst in baseball, sandwiched between the likes of Eddie Rosario and Thairo Estrada).
Still plenty of time for him to turn it around, obviously. I think he gets by because he's such a skilled hitter. And he's played a fantastic 2b so far. So long as he continues to play an excellent second-base, he can still be a 3-4 win player or better, I think. But those are his lowest percentages since, like, 2016.
Speaking of ex-Red Sox, Benintendi's HH% last year was 26.8%. Yuck.
And what do they have in common? Hamate injury.