Red Sox Fan Favorite Slugger Is On Pace To Potentially Join Elite Boston Company

The Boston Red Sox certainly must love what they are seeing out of rookie outfielder Masataka Yoshida.

Yoshida dealt with an injury early, but since fully recovering, has fully burst onto the scene for the Red Sox. The 29-year-old outfielder extended his team-high hitting streak to 13 games Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays and has continued to move up the American League rookie rankings.

After Yoshida's big two-hit, two-RBI performance he now sits atop or in second place in the majority of the major American League rookie leaderboards. The former longtime Orix Buffaloe currently is first in batting average (.303), on-base percentage (.391), on-base plus slugging percentage (.906), hits (30), and doubles (6). Yoshida is second in the American League among rookies in home runs (5), RBIs (21), runs (18), and third in slugging percentage at .515.

If Yoshida were to continue his current pace, there's a strong chance he could come away with the American League Rookie of the Year Award at the end of the season. If Yoshida were to claim the award, he would be just the seventh player to do so in team history. The only players to do so in Boston history so far are Walt Dropo (1950), Don Schwall (1961), Carlton Fisk (1972), Fred Lynn (1975), Nomar Garciaparra (1997), and Dustin Pedroia (2007). We are just a little over one month into the season, but Yoshida already has shown that he can be an impressive player for the Red Sox for years to come.

Boston signed Yoshida to a five-year deal this past offseason after he spent the first seven years of his professional career with the Buffaloes in the Nippon Professional Baseball league. Yoshida was one of the best hitters in the NPB and in seven seasons slashed .327/.421/.539 to go along with 135 home runs and 467 RBIs in 762 games played.

If Yoshida can keep up his level of play it will be an extremely welcomed sight for the Red Sox. Boston didn't receive too much offensive production from the outfield in 2022, so the fact that Yoshida has been able to provide some already is a major plus. Alex Verdugo has been the team's best player and Jarren Duran and Adam Duvall also have made impressive contributions. Things are looking up for Boston.

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