Rafael Devers DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers is expected to remain at DH even with Triston Casas (knee) expected to miss the remainder of the 2025 campaign. Devers was shifted to a full-time role at the DH spot in spring training when the Red Sox signed third baseman Alex Bregman. However, manager Alex Cora was "very adamant" that Devers is the team's DH, according to Gabrielle Star of The Boston Herald. Through the first 34 games of the regular season, Devers has struggled at times, posting a .242/.365/.445 slash line with five home runs. However, under the hood, Devers has generated an elite .401 xwOBA, which suggests he should see positive regression. With Devers staying at DH, fantasy managers should expect Romy Gonzalez, Connor Wong, and Abraham Toro to see most of the starts at first base.

Boston Red Sox third baseman/designated hitter Rafael Devers continued to pick up the power pace in Tuesday's 10-2 win over the Blue Jays. Devers went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk, and a strikeout. The 28-year-old clobbered a third-inning Bowden Francis off-speed pitch deep into the right-field seats for his fifth HR of the season and his third in the last four games. It has been a rough start to the season offensively for Devers, who has struggled with strikeouts and has produced little batting average and power. However, he has stepped things up recently, batting .231 with three HR and a double in his last seven games. Even that stretch is less than fantasy managers are expecting, but it is encouraging to see Devers trending in the right direction.

Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers went 2-for-6 with a home run in his team's 13-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday. Devers added a single and two runs scored while striking out twice. The veteran has had a rough go to begin 2025, but broke out of a 0-for-15 slump over the weekend with a 5-for-13 performance in their series with the Guardians. He's still making excellent contact, and severely underperforming his .260 xBA (.216), so his hot-hitting from this weekend could be the spark that sends him on an upward trajectory for the remainder of the season. The 28-year-old currently holds the highest walk rate of his career (16.8%), and is impacting the ball harder than ever (95.1 MPH average exit velocity) and more often (60% hard-hit rate).