Future of the Franchise

A Xander quick hit: What does Xander Bogaerts, Starlin Castro, Tim Raines, and Billy Goodman have in common? They are a part of a group of only eight players, aged 22 or younger, to ever hit .300 with five or fewer homers, with enough at bats to qualify for a batting title.

How about a few more: He has an older brother. Although he's only one minute older.... He has a twin. His favorite cookie is chocolate, and he loves his grandmother very much.... Oh, and he speaks four different languages: English, Dutch, Spanish, and Papiamento. .... Papiamento is the official language of Aruba, of which he is only the fifth Aruban born player to make it to the MLB.

The last set of quick hits: These seem less reliable, but the internet says so, so it must be true. Xander was the first player to ever hit a 5 run home run. He was likewise the first player to ever hit back to back homers, in the same at bat. He once stole home, then was allowed to take first base as well when he appealed to the umpire, citing a little known rule in the unabridged rule book.

As for  what he actually does on the field though, he is perennially a top tier prospect, has 20 plus homer potential, and can easily hit .300 with a .400 OBP. And with a decent skill set at Short Stop, he could end up being an MVP caliber player for a very long time. 

Team MVP

It only took Abreu one time to defect to America, regardless of whether his tiny ship was almost sunk on two different occassions by larger vessels. From Haiti, to the Dominican Republic, to Chicago, and now St. Louis. His journey has been wrought with peril.

But as a player, he's pretty good, decent really, as far as best players in the game go. I mean, he was only the unanimous winner of the AL ROY, had a nasty slash .317/.383/.581 (169 OPS+) with 35 doubles, 36 homers and 107 RBI. 

In 300+ at bats before the All-Star Break, Abreu had 29 home runs and hit .292. After the break in 234 at bats he hit .305 but only had 7 home runs. So, the power never left right, its still there, just must have been slightly dormant.