👉 TAP TO SAVE 30% WITH CODE NEW
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Boston Red Sox: 2017 Team Preview and Fantasy Outlooks

Welcome to our ongoing series of MLB team previews. As part of RotoBaller's ongoing effort to help you win your leagues, we're previewing all 30 MLB teams. For each team, we will take a look at their hitters, pitchers, prospects and offseason moves. Today we dive into the 2017 Boston Red Sox Team Outlook, and preview their potential fantasy baseball contributions.

Boston fans are understandably excited about this upcoming season. They did see a local legend hang 'em up after last year - he'll be back to see his number retired this year - but the team did not sit idly by. They added another ace to their rotation, and it seems like the team is built well on both youth and experience.

Their mission will be to get back to the World Series and win, and there are plenty of players on here who could help your fantasy team do well, too.

Editor's note: for even more draft prep, visit our awesome 2017 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It has lots of in-depth staff rankings and draft strategy columns. You will find tiered rankings for every position, 2017 impact rookie rankings, AL/NL only league ranks and lots more. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.

 

Offseason Moves

The biggest offseason move for Boston was adding another big arm to their arsenal of starting pitching - Chris Sale. Yes, Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech could wind up being big studs for the Chicago White Sox sometime in the not-too-distant future, but Dave Dombrowski is in "Win Now" mode. He couldn't get David Ortiz, who is Boston's biggest departure, a final ring before he retired, but he's determined to bring another ring to Beantown. Mitch Moreland will replace Hanley Ramirez at first, who gets to slide into the DH spot. He also brought in Tyler Thornburg, who can help bridge the late innings to get to Craig Kimbrel. In a move that could help a lot if there are injuries to starting pitchers - hi, Eduardo Rodriguez - Dombrowski signed Kyle Kendrick to a Minor League deal.

 

Hitting Overview 

Even with Big Papi's retirement, there's still quite a hitting arsenal with Ramirez, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Dustin Pedroia, and Moreland adding a lefty bat to counter all these switch-hitters. We'll also see if Andrew Benintendi lives up to his hype as an uber-prospect. Sandy Leon will have the job at catcher, though he has to prove that his 2016 was not all smoke and mirrors (or that he didn't make a Joe Hardy-esque deal with the devil for his great stats). A big X-Factor will be if Pablo Sandoval keeps those pounds off and plays like the guy that San Francisco Giants fans loved for many years. Yes, Ortiz's ability to always seemingly get the big clutch hit will be sorely missed, but there's no reason why all the hitters can't keep up putting up their fantasy-friendly numbers - any of the above could hit 20-30 homers and drive in over 100 RBIs. We rank Bogaerts as the third-best shortstop, Betts is the second-best outfielder behind some guy named Mike Trout, and Bradley Jr. is in the Top 25 outfielders. Moreland could be a good late-round pick at first base for depth. There are a lot of Red Sox hitters that can help you this year.

 

Pitching Overview

It goes without saying that Boston now has a Top 3 starting rotation to envy. Going up against any combination of Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello is not going to be fun. Well, it will be fun for the people who own them in fantasy. Sale and Price are Top 10 pitchers - and although Porcello is ranked No. 107, I think he deserves more respect than that. Also, if Steven Wright can regain the form that he had before he got hurt on a base running play, it could be a Big Four situation. There's also depth in the back with Drew Pomeranz and Rodriguez. Their closer is still Craig Kimbrel, and John Farrell will use people like Thornburg, Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and some others to get the ball to him in the ninth. Thornburg did have 13 saves in 2016, just in case Kimbrel goes down with an injury. We still like Kimbrel, ranking him No. 4 among relievers.

 

Prospects Overview

Benintendi, who hit a fairly decent .295 in 105 at-bats in 2016, could be the big impact rookie this season. Yes, losing Moncada and Kopech did clear the cupboards a bit, but there are names like Rafael Devers and Sam Travis who could make their names known in Spring Training. But it looks like Benintendi has been given the left-field job for now, and he would need a truly terrible Spring Training to lose that job. Then again, he only needs to look at Rusney Castillo from last year to know that nothing is ever guaranteed in baseball.

 

Conclusion

As usual, this Red Sox team looks loaded for bear with players that could give your fantasy team a big boost. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people from Boston loaded up their fantasy teams with their own players. Homerism? What homerism. Of course, it also depends on the size of your league and how many other people are Boston fans too. The positions that could really help you are starting pitcher, second base, shortstop, outfield, and relief pitcher.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Shohei Ohtani

Might Not be Fully Built Up as a Pitcher by Opening Day
Travis Etienne Jr.

has "Legitimate Interest" in Joining Chiefs
Zach Charbonnet

Undergoes Knee Surgery on Friday
Austin Reaves

Back in Starting Five
Matisse Thybulle

Kris Murray, Matisse Thybulle Suit Up Friday
Scoot Henderson

No Longer Limited
Ben Joyce

Throws Successful Bullpen Session on Friday
Jamal Murray

Jalen Pickett Available Friday vs. Portland
Yoshinobu Yamamoto

to Start on Saturday
LeBron James

Upgraded to Available Friday vs. Clippers
Bryan Ramos

Orioles Claim Bryan Ramos Off Waivers From Cardinals
Max Scherzer

Blue Jays Have Intensified Talks With Max Scherzer
Marcelo Mayer

Likely Out for a Few More Days
Yimi García

Yimi Garcia Won't be Ready for Opening Day
Max Christie

is Downgraded to Out
Evan Mobley

is Unavailable for Friday's Game
Tyler Herro

to Make his Return on Friday
Norman Powell

is Cleared to Play on Friday
Nicolas Claxton

to Remain Out on Friday
Kyshawn George

Won't Play on Friday
Andrew Nembhard

is Ruled Out on Friday
T.J. McConnell

is Available on Friday
Lauri Markkanen

Won't Suit up on Friday
Gerrit Cole

Hits 96.9 MPH in First Live Session
Nolan Schanuel

Improves Bat Speed, Hoping for More Power
Tyler Mahle

Expected to Face Hitters Next Week
Félix Bautista

Orioles Place Felix Bautista on 60-Day Injured List
Sung-Mun Song

to Make Spring Training Debut Soon
Jason Adam

to be Ready for Opening Day?
Yuki Matsui

Dealing With Groin Tightness
Johan Oviedo

Red Sox Want Johan Oviedo to be More Explosive
Sawyer Gipson-Long

to Throw a Bullpen on Friday
Drew Rasmussen

to See Career-High in Innings?
Bryce Miller

Looking to "Go Even Further" in 2026
Brandon Nimmo

Ramping Up Slowly With New Team
Wyatt Langford

Rangers Easing Wyatt Langford into Cactus League Games
Pablo López

Pablo Lopez to Have Season-Ending Tommy John Surgery
CFB

Curt Cignetti Agrees to New Deal With Indiana, Will Earn $13.2 Million Per Year
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Returns to Practice
Josh Morrissey

Remains Out Against Finland
Sidney Crosby

Won't Play Friday
Anthony Hernandez

Set For UFC Houston Main Event
Sean Strickland

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Uros Medic

Set For UFC Houston Co-Main Event
Pascal Siakam

Remains Out for Personal Reasons
Geoff Neal

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Ty Jerome

Scotty Pippen Jr. Ruled Out Friday vs. Utah
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Expected to Play Friday
Deandre Ayton

Cleared to Return Friday
Melquizael Costa

A Favorite At UFC Houston
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Shut Down for Remainder of Season
Aaron Nesmith

to Miss Second Half of Back-to-Back
Devin Booker

Exits Early in Blowout Loss
Dan Ige

An Underdog At UFC Houston
Logan Cooley

Sheds Non-Contact Jersey
Maxwell Crozier

to Miss 10 Weeks After Surgery
Kirill Marchenko

Dealing With Lower-Body Injury
Petr Mrazek

Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
Victor Hedman

Suffers Lower-Body Injury
Sidney Crosby

Considered Day-to-Day
Rashee Rice

Accused of Assault by Long-Time Girlfriend
Ben Griffin

Looking to Return to Top Form at Riviera
Keegan Bradley

Looking to Build Momentum at Riviera
J.J. Spaun

Putting a Major Concern at Riviera
Sepp Straka

May Have Tough Time at The Genesis Invitational
Shane Lowry

Trending Up Entering the Genesis Invitational
Justin Rose

Off Most Radars at The Genesis Invitational
Robert MacIntyre

a Long Hitter to Watch at Riviera Country Club
Jake Knapp

Red-Hot Heading to Riviera
Min Woo Lee

Attempts to Build Momentum After Pebble Beach
Harry Hall

an Unknown for The Genesis Invitational
Matt Fitzpatrick

Has Favorable Path to Success at Riviera This Week
Wyndham Clark

Not Likely to Contend at Genesis Invitational
Ludvig Aberg

Might Find the Genesis Invitational More Challenging
Harris English

Carries Strong Form to Riviera
Patrick Cantlay

Eyes Another Strong Week at The Genesis Invitational
Daniel Berger

Needs Short Game to Show Up at Riviera
Sam Burns

Hopes Return to Form Continues at Riviera
Collin Morikawa

Riding Wave of Victory Into Riviera
Hideki Matsuyama

Looks to Have Repeat Success at The Genesis Invitational
Scottie Scheffler

Looks to Find Paydirt at Riviera
Xander Schauffele

Rounding into Form Before Genesis Invitational
Morgan Rielly

Available After Olympic Break
Charlie Lindgren

Practices Fully Tuesday
John Carlson

Ready to Rock After Olympics
Radek Faksa

Unavailable Against Team Canada
Anton Lundell

Good to Go Wednesday
Brandon Bussi

Earns Three-Year Extension
SJ

Sharks Terminating Jeff Skinner's Contract
Mike Evans

Will Return in 2026
Kenneth Walker III

Seahawks Not Expected to Use Franchise Tag on Kenneth Walker III
Bucky Irving

Undergoes Offseason Shoulder Surgery
Tyreek Hill

Says he Will Play in 2026
Joey Logano

Finishes Third in the 2026 Daytona 500
Ricky Stenhouse Jr

. Finishes as the Runner-Up in the Daytona 500
Chase Elliott

Falls Short of His First Daytona 500 Victory Again
Brad Keselowski

Ends Daytona 500 With a Top-Five Finish
Tyler Reddick

Wins the Daytona 500 for the First Time with 23XI Racing
Tyreek Hill

Released by Dolphins
Joey Logano

Should DFS Players Roster Joey Logano At Daytona?
Ryan Blaney

Is Ryan Blaney Worth Rostering for DFS at Daytona?
Chase Briscoe

May Not be Worth DFS Consideration for Daytona
Chase Elliott

Is Chase Elliott Worth Rostering At Daytona This Week For DFS?
Austin Cindric

May Be Worth Rostering At Daytona
Cleveland Browns

Browns to Spend Top Draft Picks on Receiver or Offensive Lineman?
Brad Keselowski

Is Brad Keselowski Worth Rostering for Daytona Lineups?
Tyler Reddick

May be A Solid and Sneaky Pick for Daytona Lineups
Alex Bowman

is A Highly Favorable Mid-Tier Option for Daytona
Ross Chastain

Could be A Top DFS Scorer for Daytona
Justin Allgaier

is One of the Safest DFS Options for Daytona
Tim Stützle

Tim Stutzle Matches Team Germany Record With Third Goal
Jack Eichel

Off to Hot Start in Olympics
OTT

Mads Sogaard Injured Saturday
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF