2021 Topps Now Road to Opening Day

I briefly mentioned a few days ago that I picked up the Topps Now Road to Opening Day set, like I usually do.  This year there was no autographed version of the Red Sox set, which was annoying.  Topps in general seemed to have decided the Red Sox were not very popular this year.  It seemed like most of the sets had fewer Red Sox cards than usual.

I did get the low-numbered parallel which was a freebie in the set:

 

This is the red parallel of Alex Verdugo, numbered to just 10.  It was hoped that Verdugo would blossom into a star this season.  That did not really happen.  He is certainly a solid player, but he may never be a star.  Verdugo hit .289/.351/.426 with 13 home runs, 32 doubles and 63 RBIs.  He is more of a line-drive hitter than a power hitter, so I do not expect him to hit more than 25 home runs in the future, but a higher batting average would be helpful.

Here is the set:

1.  Alex Verdugo.

2.  Hunter Renfroe.  Renfroe turned in a great season for a guy that was non-tendered coming into the year.  I am going to have to consider him for the All Time One-Year Right Fielder based on his season.  He led the league in outfield assists and hit .259/.315/.501 with 31 home runs and 96 RBIs.  Only his error total and disappointing postseason kept this from being an even better season.  Renfroe was traded recently to the Brewers for Jackie Bradley Jr. and two prospects.

3.  J.D. Martinez.  Martinez made a big comeback from his disappointing 2020 season and hit .286/.349/.518 with 28 home runs, 99 RBIs and led the Majors with 42 doubles.  Martinez decided not to opt out of the final year of his contract, so barring a trade he should be back.  He was an All Star this season.

4.  Marwin Gonzalez.  Gonzalez was a massive disappointment in Boston and was released early in the summer.  I always wished Boston had not traded him to Houston after selecting him in the Rule 5 Draft back in 2011.  He hit .202/.281/.285.  He did provide defensive versatility, but that was about it.  He was picked up by the Astros and had a couple big moments in the postseason.

5.  Xander Bogaerts.  Boston has a big decision to make with Bogaerts after the season.  Bogaerts has an opt-out in his contract.  It may be time to lock him up long term.  He hit .295/.370/.493 with 23 home runs and 79 RBIs.  His season was a little slowed late due to COVID and his defense is sketchy, but there are not many shortstops that hit like him.  He won the Silver Slugger and was an All Star this season.

6.  Michael Chavis.  Chavis took another step backward in 2021.  He has not been able to match the potential he showed when he was first called up in 2019.  As a result, he was traded to Pittsburgh at the deadline for lefty reliever Austin Davis.  He hit just .190/.207/.342.  He hit just two home runs and struck out 32 times in 82 plate appearances.  He was very good with the Pirates, so we will see if he can be a productive Major Leaguer or not.

7.  Rafael Devers.  What is there to say about Devers?  He is the best hitter on the team, hitting .279/.352/.538 and leading the team with 38 home runs, 113 RBIs, 101 runs scored and 165 hits.  He is rough defensively and may need to switch positions.  He is starting to put together some impressive postseason statistics.  He has eight home runs in postseason play and is hitting .303/.382/.573.  Devers won the Silver Slugger and was an All Star this season.  Boston needs to extend him.

8.  Enrique Hernandez.  Hernandez was signed primarily to play second base and fill in in the outfield.  He ended up being one of the best defensive center fielders in the game.  He was also the team's primary leadoff hitter.  Hernandez hit .250/.337/.449 with 35 doubles, 20 home runs and 60 RBIs.  He ignited in the postseason, hitting .408 with five home runs and nine RBIs.

9.  Christian Vazquez.  Vazquez was disappointing after two straight impressive seasons at the plate.  He had some big moments though, particularly walking off Game Three of the ALDS against the Rays.  Vazquez hit .258/.308/.352 with six home runs and 49 RBIs.  He led the team with eight stolen bases, which says more about the team speed than Vazquez.

10.  Darwinzon Hernandez.  When healthy, Hernandez can be a lights-out reliever.  He is a tad too wild to really make a name for himself though.  Hernandez walked 31 batters in 40 innings pitched, but he also struck out 54.  On the season, he was 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA.  

11.  Chris Sale.  Sale came back from Tommy John surgery late in the season.  He was decent enough, but he still has a way to go before he resembles the great pitcher he was prior to 2019.  Sale pitched in nine games in 2021, going 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched.  He struck out 52 batters while walking 12.  

12.  Eduardo Rodriguez.  E-Rod managed to pitch the entire season after missing all of last season with complications from COVID.  He was a much better pitcher than his traditional pitching stats showed.  Rodriguez went 13-8 with a 4.74 ERA (3.32 FIP though) in 157.2 innings pitched.  He struck out 185 batters while walking 47.  Unfortunately, he left after the season to join the Tigers as a free agent.  I have always liked E-Rod and will miss him on this staff.

13.  Bobby Dalbec.  Dalbec started off slow but really picked things up down the stretch.  It remains to be seen what kind of player he will be, and Boston might not be too patient waiting for him to blossom if he continues to struggle.  They do have a first-baseman waiting in the wings in Triston Casas.  Dalbec hit .240/.298/.494 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs.  The power is real, but he struck out 156 times versus 28 walks in 453 plate appearances.

14.  Garrett Richards.  Richards had his moments, but he also had significant struggles.  He ended up filling a variety of roles throughout the season.  He made 22 starts in 40 games and also finished four games.  Richards had a record of 7-8 with a 4.87 ERA in 136.2 innings pitched.  He struck out 115 batters and walked 60.  He notched three saves.

15.  Tanner Houck.  Houck bounced between Worcester and Boston throughout the season but was generally impressive.  His record was 1-5, but he had a 3.52 ERA in 69 innings pitched.  He struck out 87 batters while walking 21.  Houck pitched in 18 games, starting 13 and finishing two.  He notched the first save of his Major League career.  

So that's the set.  In general, I was happy with this player selection.  Most of these players were big parts of the team going into the season.  I did note that Marwin Gonzalez was not initially in the set.  Topps was going to include Franchy Cordero instead.  Gonzalez ended up playing better than Cordero, which is REALLY saying something about how bad Cordero was in 2021.  Really the only noteworthy missing player here is Matt Barnes, who started the season as the closer and was an All Star.  Maybe he should have replaced Darwinzon Hernandez.