This season has been a disaster, to say the least. The Sox are in 4th place in one of the worst divisions in all of baseball and give no reason for excitement. Most of the team will likely be traded at the deadline, so hopefully they can retool and be competitive soon. But, here are the grades for each hitter so far at the deadline.
Infielders
Yasmani Grandal, B-
After starting off hot, Yaz has cooled off significantly and is just playing alright. The shift rule has helped his average, but his OBP is nowhere near what it has been when he has been good. The Sox should be able to get a decent prospect back for Grandal at the deadline.
Andrew Vaughn, B
There is a lot of debate on how well Vaughn has played. I personally think a lot of people are way too hard on him. He leads the team in RBIs and has been alright defensively. He should finish with about 20-25 home runs and 90 RBIs. For a young player, you will take that and hope that he can work on improving the average and the baserunning.
Elvis Andrus, D
For someone who made a lot of noise at the end of last season, he has truly been disappointing. He has been hurt and when he has played, it has not been good. He is a solid veteran presence, but I would much rather have Remillard playing second for the remainder of the year.
Tim Anderson, F
I'm not sure this needs much explanation, but he is having the worst year of his career. It seems some off-the-field issues may be creeping into his play and it shows. Hopefully, he can figure it off this offseason because it really stinks to see him like this.
Jake Burger, B+
A pleasant surprise, Burger is second on the team in home runs and has been one of the best hitters all year. He should finish with close to 30 bombs this year and he has earned a spot in the lineup every single day. If or when Moncada comes back, he should be the one looking for the new spot, not Burger.
Yoan Moncada, C-
This one hurts. He started off so well but once he gets hurt it is a downward spiral. Hopefully all this time off will bring him back to normal, but it will only be a matter of time before he is hurt again. He has all the talent in the world, but injuries just keep killing his career.
Zach Remillard, A-
A great surprise, Remillard has played extremely well since being called up. He has great bat-to-ball skills and could stick around for a while if he continues to play well in the second half. He has definitely outplayed every other second baseman on the roster and should start there for the majority of the games.
Outfielders
Andrew Benintendi, B
For the largest contract in Sox history, it is more of a disappointment, but his season in a nutshell has been very solid. He can steal a few bags and play some defense like no other LF we have had in the past, but the bat is just very underwhelming. I'm not sure what happened to the power, but his average has been solid.
Luis Robert, A
A chance to be MVP if Ohtani did not play in the AL, Robert is having a great season. He is one of the best players in all of baseball and should continue his rise to stardom in the second half. If he can stop the elongated slumps, he could truly be a perennial MVP.
Oscar Colas, C
He did not play great in his first stint, but he played well enough in AAA to get called back up. He should start every day in right to let him get acclimated to MLB pitching. He will have to work through some things, but he has shown potential.
Gavin Sheets, C-
He started off playing well but he has cooled down significantly. He doesn't provide much other than a bench power bat. That should likely be his role the rest of the way, as it is important to get Colas as many at-bats as possible.
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