Rafael Devers Boston Red Sox Third Base

       
 
Age: 27
Born: October 24, 1996
Birthplace: Sanchez, DR
Height: 6-0
Weight: 235
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
   
Drafted: Not draft eligible
How Acquired: International free agent
(July 2013)
College: -
High School: -
ETA: -

Photo © Kelly O'Connor
Rafael Devers photos by Kelly O'Connor
Pronunciation: DEHV-ers
First Pro Contract: July 2, 2013
Signing Scout: Manny Nanita
Signing Bonus: $1,500,000
Rule 5 Draft Eligible: N/A
MLFA Eligible: N/A
   
Pro Debut: May 31, 2014 (DSL)
Added to 40-man: July 24, 2017 (BOS)
MLB Debut: July 25, 2017 (BOS)
Service Time (1/24): 6 years, 70 days
Options Remaining: 3 (0 used)
Contract (2024): $20,000,000
   
Twitter: @Rafael_Devers
Instagram: @rafael.devers

 
 
 
 
 
     
  Scouting Report & Links      
         
  Physical Description: Well-built with a large lower half. Young face, but physically mature for his age. Room to fill out in his upper body. Not a great athlete, although surprisingly athletic for his size. Will need to watch his conditioning as he matures.

Hit: Fluid, easy swing. Natural hitter. Strong, quick wrists. Future plus hit tool. Easy plus bat speed and an advanced approach for his age. Solid swing mechanics and separation in stride. Very controlled for someone with his bat speed and ability to drive the baseball. Able to recognize spin, and has decent knowledge of the strike zone. Can let the ball get deep on the outer half and still have the strength to drive it the other way.

Power: Plus-to-better power potential (30-plus home runs). Present strength allows him to drive the ball to all fields. Will still get stronger. Ball makes a different sound off of his bat and really carries. Generates natural backspin and loft. Has displayed precocious power to all fields ever since signing.

Arm: Plus arm strength that can play at third base. Footwork has greatly improved since he signed, but still can get a bit sloppy at times. Has the arm strength to make all the throws both deep behind the base and charging while on the run.

Field: Has soft hands and his footwork is surprisingly good given his build. Comfortable charging the ball and making smooth transfers from glove to throwing hand. Agile for his size and has average range. Given time, projects as an average defender at third base. Speed of the game could give him some trouble while he adjusts to the major league level, which could take time given his age. On occasion will lose fundamentals leading to careless errors. Should be able to stick at the position long-term unless his body gets away from him as he matures. There was concern in the lower minors that he may need to move off the position, but this stemmed almost entirely from projections that he may lose agility as he grew into his large frame, rather than from anything relating to his fielding ability.

Run: Below-average speed at present. Not a part of his game. Has shown solid baserunning instincts, but can lose focus and make the occasional blunder.
  Career Notes: Suffered a stress fracture in his right ankle while sliding during the 2014 Fall Instructional League. Was one of the top prospects in the 2013 international free agent class. Participated in 2013 and 2014 Fall Instructional League. World Series champion in 2018. Signed to a ten-year contract extension on January 11, 2023.

Summation: All-Star potential regardless of position due to his value at the plate. Potential to be a plus hitter for average with plus-to-better power. One of the most exciting young players to come through the system in years. Mature approach for his age; has shown the ability to handle aggressive assignments and make adjustments to periods of struggle. Glove will play at third base with more experience. Surprisingly agile given his build. Will boot some routine plays but will make some of the tough ones. Unlikely to be a Gold Glove candidate, but also won't be a liability and should develop into at least an average third baseman, an outcome the Red Sox will happily accept given his offensive potential. If a defensive move is necessary his bat will still play at either first base or designated hitter.

Links
2013 Top 40 Season in Review
Scouting Scratch (4.2.14)
Devers Spring Training Video (4.3.2014)
Scouting Scratch (10.8.14)
2014 Top 40 Season in Review
The Write-Up (3.20.15)
Notes from the Field (5.6.15)
Scouting Scratch (8.7.15)
2015 Top 40 Season in Review
Notes from the Field (3.17.17)
YouTube Scouting Video (4.26.17)
Scouting Scratch (4.27.17)
Scouting Scratch (6.19.17)
Transaction Analysis (7.23.17)
Featured Video (7.25.17)
 
   
     
    Hitting Stats                                          
  year team lg level org age g ab r h 2b 3b hr rbi tb bb so sb cs avg obp slg ops
2014 DSL Red Sox DSL Rk Bos 16 28 104 26 35 6 3 3 21 56 21 20 4 1 0.337 0.445 0.538 0.984
  2014 GCL Red Sox GCL Rk Bos 17 42 157 21 49 11 2 4 36 68 14 30 1 0 0.312 0.374 0.484 0.858
  2015 Greenville Drive SAL A Bos 18 115 469 71 135 38 1 11 70 208 24 84 3 0 0.288 0.329 0.443 0.773
  2015 Escogido LIDOM Wint Bos 18 13 43 7 12 3 0 0 6 15 48 8 0 0 0.279 9,340 0.349 0.689
  2016 Salem Red Sox Car A+ Bos 19 128 503 64 142 32 8 11 71 223 40 94 18 6 0.282 0.335 0.443 0.778
  2016 Escogido LIDOM Wint Bos 19 25 74 6 18 6 18 4 4 22 4 13 0 0 0.243 0.282 0.297 0.579
  2017 Portland Sea Dogs East AA Bos 20 77 287 48 86 19 3 18 56 165 31 55 0 3 0.300 0.369 0.575 0.944
  2017 Pawtucket Red Sox IL AAA Bos 20 9 35 6 14 1 0 2 4 21 3 8 0 0 0.400 0.447 0.600 1.047
2017 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 20 58 222 34 63 14 0 10 30 107 18 57 3 1 0.284 0.338 0.482 0.819
  2018 Lowell Spinners NYPL A- Bos 21 1 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 4 0 0 0 0 0.250 0.250 1.000 1.250
  2018 Pawtucket Red Sox IL AAA Bos 21 6 21 3 7 2 0 1 2 12 1 6 0 0 0.333 0.364 0.571 0.935
  2018 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 21 121 450 59 108 24 0 21 65 195 38 121 5 2 0.240 0.298 0.433 0.731
  2019 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 22 156 647 129 201 54 4 32 115 359 49 119 8 8 0.311 0.361 0.555 0.916
  2020 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 23 57 232 32 61 16 1 11 43 112 13 67 0 0 0.263 0.310 0.483 0.793
  2021 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 24 156 591 101 165 37 1 38 113 318 62 143 5 5 0.279 0.352 0.538 0.890
2022 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 25 141 555 84 164 42 1 27 88 289 50 114 3 1 0.295 0.354 0.521 0.874
2023 Dominican Republic WBC Int'l --- 26 4 16 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 0 0 0.125 0.222 0.125 0.347
2023 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 26 153 589 90 157 34 0 33 100 290 62 126 5 1 0.271 0.351 0.500 0.851
2024 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 27     stats                            
   
     
  Advanced Stats & Splits
   
     
  Awards   SoxProspects.com Awards  
  2015 South Atlantic League All-Star
Red Sox Minor League Hitter of the Month (May 2015)
2015 Futures Game All-Star
Red Sox Minor League Defensive Player of the Month (April 2016)
2016 Carolina League Season-End All-Star
2016 Red Sox Minor League Defensive Player of the Year
Eastern League Player of the Week (May 1-7, 2017)
Red Sox Minor League Defensive Player of the Month (June 2017)
Eastern League All-Star (2017)
2017 Futures Gane All-Star
2017 Topps All-Rookie Team
American League Player of the Month (May 2019)
American League Player of the Week (August 12-18, 2019)
2019 Boston Red Sox Heart and Hustle Award
2021 American League All-Star
2021 American League Silver Slugger
2021 All-MLB Second Team
2022 American League All-Star
American League Player of the Week (September 11-17, 2023)
2023 American League Silver Slugger
  SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (June 2-June 8, 2014)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (June 30-July 6, 2014)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Month (July, 2014)
2014 SoxProspects.com Season-End All-Star
2014 SoxProspects.com Rookie of the Year
2015 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
SoxProspects.com Player of the Month (May 2015)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (May 4-10, 2015)
2015 SoxProspects.com All-Star
2016 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (July 18-24, 2016)
2016 SoxProspects.com All-Star
2017 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (May 1-7, 2017)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (May 29 - June 4, 2017)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Month (June 2017)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (June 26-July 2, 2017)
2017 SoxProspects.com Player of the Year
2017 SoxProspects.com All-Star
2019 SoxProspects.com Homegrown Player of the Year
 
   

   
     
 
 
 
     
 
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