My 2024 Predictions

I was looking back at previous posts and remembered that I made some predictions about the 2024 team.  I guess out of lack of anything better to do tonight, let's re-visit those and see how I did:

WILYER ABREU

2024 Prediction: Abreu will turn out to be the best player Boston got in the Christian Vazquez deal, becoming the regular right-fielder by mid-season.

WELL?: Yep, I got this one right.

CHASE ANDERSON

2024 Prediction: Anderson will not even be with this team by May 1. He will only have a couple of mop-up appearances and a bloated ERA.

WELL?: Not quite. Anderson did okay for a little while and was a mop-up man for awhile. Injuries slowed him down and he was eventually released, but not until August.

BRAYAN BELLO

2024 Prediction: Bello will make big strides toward becoming a potential ace and win 15 games.

WELL?: Not really. He did win 14 games, but he did not look like a potential ace.

ISAIAH CAMPBELL

2024 Prediction: Campbell will turn out to be the best under-the-radar pick-up for the team in 2024 and be a valuable member of the bullpen.

WELL?: Not even close. He started okay, but ended up in just eight games with a 16.20 ERA.

TRISTON CASAS

2024 Prediction: Casas will have his first season with 30 home runs.

WELL?: Nope. Injuries happened. He ended up with just 13.

KUTTER CRAWFORD

2024 Prediction: Crawford will become Boston's #2 pitcher, finishing with 12 wins and an ERA below 3.50.

WELL?: Sort of? One could make the argument he was the #2 pitcher, but he did not have 12 wins or an ERA below 3.50.

BOBBY DALBEC

2024 Prediction: This year is the end of the road for Dalbec in Boston, and possibly very early.

WELL?: I don't get any joy out of this, but I was right this was it for Dalbec in Boston. He did make it through the year though.

RAFAEL DEVERS

2024 Prediction: Ho-hum, just another 30 homer/100 RBI season for Devers.

WELL?: Close. 28 home runs and 83 RBIs.

JARREN DURAN

2024 Prediction: Duran will steal the second-most bags in a single season in Red Sox history. The number to beat is 54.

WELL?: Nope. He had a great year, but in a completely different way than I was expecting. He only stole 34 bases though.

TANNER HOUCK

2024 Prediction: Houck will be the closer by the end of the season.

WELL?: No. I was not expecting an All Star season as a starter.

KENLEY JANSEN

2024 Prediction: Jansen will be traded at the Trading Deadline, but will be an All Star before he goes.

WELL?: Wrong on both accounts, but he had a fine season.

CHRIS MARTIN

2024 Prediction: Martin has another ridiculously good season and actually gets his first card since 2020.

WELL?: Yes, mostly. I wouldn't call it a ridiculously good season, but it was good and he did get his first card.

REESE MCGUIRE

2024 Prediction: McGuire's numbers continue to slide and he is released by the end of the season.

WELL?: Another one I don't feel good about, but I was correct. McGuire had a 63 OPS+ and was set loose in September.

TYLER O'NEILL

2024 Prediction: O'Neill has a renaissance season in 2024, but is traded at the deadline.

WELL?: He did hit 31 home runs, but he was not traded, so half credit.

NICK PIVETTA

2024 Prediction: Pivetta has another solid season, but is also traded at the deadline.

WELL?: I really thought Boston would move more players than they did. Wrong on that, but he did have a solid season.

CEDDANNE RAFAELA

2024 Prediction: Rafaela contends for the A.L. Rookie of the Year and wins a Gold Glove in his rookie season.

WELL?: Nope. A cold stretch in the second half and spending half the season at shortstop kept him from doing either one. Oddly Abreu did both of these.

PABLO REYES

2024 Prediction: Reyes will be a valuable utility infielder.

WELL?: Reyes did not play well and was released, so no.

JOELY RODRIGUEZ

2024 Prediction: Rodriguez will be the first player to be dropped from the roster and Brennan Bernardino will be brought back.

WELL?: Yes. After 14 games and a 5.93 ERA, Rodriguez was cut.

JUSTIN SLATEN

2024 Prediction: Slaten, a Rule 5 pick, will stay on the roster all season and gradually work into more of a trustworthy arm out of the bullpen.

WELL?: This is probably the most random one I was correct about. Slaten had a great rookie season, when he was healthy.

TREVOR STORY

2024 Prediction: Story has a 20/20 season and wins a Gold Glove.

WELL?: Looks like I was a year early. Story spent most of the season on the IL again.

ENMANUEL VALDEZ

2024 Prediction: Valdez hits well, but his defensive problems make it impossible to keep him on the roster and he is eventually traded.

WELL?: He did not hit well, but he was traded away in the offseason.

GREG WEISSERT

2024 Prediction: Weissert becomes a fan favorite and makes the Verdugo trade worthwhile.

WELL?: This was basically correct. Weissert had a good season.

GARRETT WHITLOCK

2024 Prediction: Whitlock solidifies his place in the rotation and wins 12 games.

WELL?: He started off well with a 1.96 ERA in four starts, but then hit the IL and never made it back. He only won one game.

JOSH WINCKOWSKI

2024 Prediction: Winckowski becomes one of the team's setup men with another strong season.

WELL?: Nope. He was okay, but a 4.14 ERA is not getting it done.

CONNOR WONG

2024 Prediction: Wong is an All Star in 2024.

WELL?: This was optimistic, but Wong was hitting .307/.367/.443 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs at the break, so he certainly COULD have been an All Star.  So, even though I was wrong, it wasn't the worst prediction.

MASATAKA YOSHIDA

2024 Prediction: Yoshida contends for the batting title in 2024.

WELL?: He hit .280, while the leader hit .332. Yoshida was not in the top ten.

So, I am probably not in any danger of starting a psychic hotline.  I got most of the guys who got released correct, which is not exactly positive.  My best guesses were Chris Martin, Wilyer Abreu, Greg Weissert and Justin Slaten.  The worst prediction was probably Isaiah Campbell.