Boston Red Sox's Roman Anthony has been named the biggest disappointment among MLB left fielders due to early overhype and ongoing back issues. The team is struggling this season with a record of 12-17 and recently fired manager Alex Cora.
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Red Sox's Roman Anthony among biggest disappointments in MLB for 2 reasons originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox are in the middle of some major issues this season. They fired Alex Cora, are near the bottom of the standings at 12-17, and have seen a few of their stars produce mediocre numbers this year.
Garrett Crochet has some concerning metrics, and Ranger Suarez, before his last two starts, was looking like a swing and a miss in free agency. But the biggest disappointment on the team by far has been Roman Anthony.
ESPN's David Schoenfield named Anthony as the biggest disappointment among all left fielders in MLB, and for two clear reasons: Anthony being overhyped too soon into his career, and the back issue, which might continue to be a concern.
"Was the hype too much, too soon?" Schoenfield writes. "Perhaps, but all the indicators pointed to a superstar hitter in the making. I still think he'll get there, but the back issue that caused him to miss three games last week is a concern."
Anthony was Schoenfield's biggest disappointment among left fielders this season, and for good reason. Setting the concerning back injury aside, Anthony has struggled this season.
After posting 3.5 bWAR in 71 games with an .859 OPS, Anthony has a brutal .669 OPS this season with just 0.5 bWAR in 24 games.
He had a 143 OPS+ last season, 43 percent better than the league-average hitter. This season, his 91 OPS+ signifies he's nine-percent worse than the league average hitter. That's a huge drop-off in one season.
Roman Anthony is considered a disappointment due to being overhyped early in his career and suffering from ongoing back issues.
The Boston Red Sox currently have a record of 12-17 this season.
The Boston Red Sox recently fired manager Alex Cora.
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Anthony is only 21 years old, and there's still plenty of potential for Anthony to reach and become one of the best outfielders in the game.
But, after such a poor start, it's hard to completely ignore the concerns about his game. Was he overhyped? Potentially. Does he have superstar upside? Yes, it's not gone away.
Anthony's struggles this season are concerning, and calling him the biggest disappointment among all left fielders this season is an apt description of how the year has gone for the $130.46 million outfielder.
He very easily could turn things around by the end of the season, but this slow start and back issue have Schoenfield more concerned than normal about a young star's struggles to begin a season.