GROWING UP, JOE Milton couldn’t help himself when he saw smoke on the horizon. It didn’t matter how many times his mom warned him about the tractor blades that could chew him up, or how the fumes could aggravate his asthma and cause him to hyperventilate. If the sugar cane fields were being cut and burned, that meant rabbits were running for cover, and that meant game on for Milton.
Chasing rabbits is a Pahokee, Florida, tradition in the fall when farmers clear their land for next year’s harvest. Former NFL cornerback Janoris Jenkins so identified with his hometown and its unique pastime that he preferred to be called Jackrabbit.
Long-limbed and quick, Milton was good at chasing rabbits. And with his mom’s voice in his ear, he really did try to be safe. But when you’re young and full of adrenaline and sprinting after something that doesn’t want to be caught, how careful can you be? If it was a competition, he was going to find a way to win.
Milton recalled a particularly stubborn rabbit who raced toward a canal once. Usually they’d hide in the tall grass near the edge of the water, he said, but this rabbit was acting as if it was going to jump across. Never mind the danger that might be lurking in the water below. “You know what?” Milton decided. “I’m going to follow through with it.”
The rabbit did leap, and a split second later, an alligator rose up and snatched it out of the air with its teeth.
Milton slammed on the brakes. “I’m good,” he thought as he watched the gator devour its dinner.
It was the last time he ran toward the smoke. Ever since, he’s been chasing something more elusive than a scared little rabbit: his potential as one of the most irresistible quarterback prospects the state has produced.
Big, strong and a threat to run the football, he checks every box. But it’s his right arm — the one that gator could have easily mangled — that has become the stuff of legend. College coaches came from all over the country to see the towering passes it sent soaring down the sideline and the way it looked so effortless with just a flick of the wrist.
Teammates laugh at the absurdity of it all, the stories that sound too impossible to be true, like the time Milton threw a baseball 95 miles per hour without warming up. For the longest time, Milton was oblivious to his gift. But if he had to pinpoint the moment he knew he was different, it was his senior year at Olympia High School in Orlando when, on a lark, he got down on a knee and tested how far he could throw a football. It traveled 70 yards.
Only now, after five long years in college, is that talent coming into focus. And not a moment too soon as he takes center stage as the starting quarterback at No. 11 for Tennessee — his second school after transferring from Michigan, and his last chance. On Saturday, on the road at Florida (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), all eyes will be on Milton. How his story ends is anyone’s guess. Bust or first-round pick? Underachiever or national champion?
He’s traveled thousands of miles to get here, from Pahokee to Ann Arbor to Knoxville and points in between. All he has to do now is make the leap from can’t-miss prospect to star — and not get pulled down into the danger below.
“MY NAME’S JOE. I play quarterback at Tennessee.”
Truth be told, Milton didn’t need to introduce himself to the adolescent campers at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana. None of the 40 or so college counselors on hand this past June — not Heisman Trophy contenders Drake Maye, Michael Penix or Jayden Daniels — could match Milton’s 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame. Not to pick on Garrett Greene, who was Academic All-Big 12 Conference at West Virginia last season, but he looked like a child walking beside Milton, barely coming up to his chin.
Milton is larger than life in other ways, too. These kids live on social media, so chances are they’ve seen his jaw-dropping throws like this one or this one. And who among us hasn’t replayed the clip of him throwing an orange 100-plus yards? It has 1.4 million hits and counting on X.
The buzz at the Manning academy on the Nicholls State campus surrounded Milton, and the question seemingly on everyone’s mind: How far would he throw during the passing competition?
During a 15-minute recess, after Milton broke the huddle by doing a standing backflip with the ease of someone stepping over a puddle, one camper asked Milton whether he would set a throwing record, although no formal records are kept. Milton shrugged and laughed if off. But then Greene fanned the flames, telling campers, “He’s going to throw it 105 yards!” Greene might as well have told them Milton would throw it over the moon, their eyes went so wide in disbelief.
Nearby, Peyton Manning, who has seen it all in his Hall of Fame career, also wondered about Milton’s limits — whether he had any. Peyton’s father, Archie, has been putting on the passing academy for 27 years, and Peyton Manning couldn’t recall a time when there was more anticipation for a quarterback. “We usually start to throw on the 30-yard line going toward the other end zone,” he said. “You figure you got 80 yards and that’s safe where you’re not going to run a [receiver] into the goalpost. I’m not sure the 30 is safe with Joe.”
There was a twinkle in Manning’s eye, but he wasn’t being hyperbolic. A Tennessee alumnus, he’s witnessed firsthand what Milton is capable of. While having that big arm is great, Manning said, “I know how much he studies. He’s an accurate quarterback, and he’s a great kid.
“I’m proud of him the way he came in last year after [Hendon Hooker‘s] injury and what a great teammate he was pulling for Hendon,” Manning said. “And I think that bowl win against Clemson can just do wonders for a new quarterback’s confidence. Joe’s a senior, but that was a new role for him and he just played so well. We had a good visit last night talking about the work they’re doing this offseason. I’m excited for him.”
Milton said that one-on-one conversation with Manning was surreal. And it wasn’t small talk, either. Milton said Manning hit him with a flurry of questions: How can you be in the present and not worry about last year? How are you leading the guys? How are you taking on your role every day? Milton assured him he was handling his business.
“Life is good,” he said. “I wake up, I’m happy. I’m not in a headspace where I’m stressing about anything. I’m just having fun.”
For one sweltering day this summer, Milton seemed unburdened — by the past, by expectations, by the pressure of having one season of eligibility left to prove he can be what he’s always dreamed of. The eldest of seven children, he fell back into the joy of tossing the ball around the backyard. It was a lesson in patience, he said, and a not-so-subtle reminder of those early days in Pahokee when anything was possible.
So he didn’t flinch when the first camper to cycle through his station was wearing a navy blue bucket hat with an unmistakable yellow block M across the front. He didn’t seem to notice the irony at all. A few moments later, a camper in a bright orange Tennessee shirt sailed a pass way off target, and Milton stepped in and encouraged him, “C’mon, man, I already know you can throw it.” He said to pay attention to his shoulder placement.
“You have no room for error,” he said, speaking from experience.
THE PLAYCALL WAS perfect. Milton, in his second game starting for Tennessee in 2021, took the snap on second-and-long and dropped back as if to pass when Pitt’s defense bit hard. The weakside linebacker rushed upfield while the defensive tackle in front of him ran a stunt, vacating the A-gap and creating a runway for Milton to take off. Defensive back Javon McIntyre then learned a lesson about angles and Joe Milton: Better safe than sorry. McIntyre, who is 45 pounds lighter than Milton, tried to cut him off before the first-down marker and didn’t even lay a hand on him. A footrace, Milton crossed midfield and sprinted all the way inside the 5-yard line before he was tripped up.
Milton lay on the ground and celebrated by crossing his arms on his chest. Neyland Stadium erupted. Was this the moment they were waiting for? Was this the Cam Newton clone they were promised when he transferred from Michigan in the spring? The arm, the legs, the whole package. “He’s the most athletic, biggest human being I’ve ever seen,” said Milton’s personal QB coach Donovan Dooley. “He looks like an action figure.”
“Soon as I stood up,” Milton said, “it felt like my ankle was loose.”
He played through the discomfort for one more series, but he knew what an MRI would later confirm: multiple ligament tears that would derail his season. And how’s this for irony? The defender who tackled him, Brandon Hill, was a friend Milton knew from Florida.
“I had a life flash,” Milton said. Maybe the universe was trying to tell him something. “My confidence level, I thought I wasn’t good enough to play football.”
It wasn’t just the one play and the injury that had him rattled. It was the whole damned thing: two years riding the bench at Michigan before finally getting his shot, only to then lose the starting job to Cade McNamara, prompting his decision to transfer to Tennessee. What went unreported at the time was that Milton broke his thumb in the second game of the 2020 season against Michigan State — a thought that haunted him going into Week 2 against Pitt a year later.
At Michigan, Milton said he thought he was better than he really was. Sure, he had that big arm — capable of firing passes so hard they’d rip apart the seams of receivers’ gloves — but he was complacent and immature. Dooley put it another way: Milton was playing quarterback rather than living the position by putting in extra hours studying the film and understanding the bigger picture. “He wishes he could have handled some things differently,” Dooley said.
Tennessee was supposed to offer a fresh start, but Milton found more of the same disappointment with the injury. Hooker would step in as his replacement and quickly establish himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
But rather than transfer a second time, Milton made the decision to stay and support the team as best he could. He and Hooker became inseparable. No one cheered on Hooker’s Heisman Trophy run last year more than Milton.
Milton said he looked in the mirror after the injury and told himself, “God ain’t make you this big for no reason. God didn’t make you this smart for no reason.”
He asked God for one more opportunity, and asked himself, “What are you going to do when you get it?”
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It’s time for Milton III to put talent on full display
SEC Nation’s Jordan Rodgers and Tim Tebow break down No. 12 Tennessee’s Joe Milton III’s talent and explain why he’s gifted in many different ways.
IT WAS A process, letting go of the residual weight of those injuries and the disappointment of not realizing his potential sooner. But Milton has made peace with it.
Now, he said, he’s changed.
Now, he said, “I want more.”
“As you get older, you see how life works and you see how things can come and go,” he explained. “So I treat it differently. It’s more meaning now, not because it’s my last year but because guys want it more. I see it in their eyes, they’re dedicated. So why not give it my all?”
Don’t just take his word for it. Dooley traveled to Knoxville this summer for a few days of one-on-one work with Milton. It was early in the morning when he arrived at Tennessee’s indoor facility to set up, and Milton was already there. And not just that, he had eight or nine receivers with him. And not just that, he had two other quarterbacks as well.
When Dooley talks about living the position of quarterback, that’s what he means. Not being threatened by competition and leading the entire team. Getting to know the receivers inside and out so they’re in sync when the pressure is on and 90,000 fans are screaming so loud they can’t communicate verbally.
“It’s a total 180,” Dooley said. “Joe’s a different Joe. He’s a man now.”
“I’ve seen Joe just be able to be himself,” he said. “I feel like that’s what helps Joe thrive in different situations is him being able to be himself, being able to be happy, be uplifting, and just be the person he is.”
“I’ve noticed a shift in just how he carries himself and how he handles interactions with everybody — people around the building, whether it’s the janitor or people down in our dining hall,” he said. “He knows he’s Joe Milton. Everyone knows he’s Joe Milton.”
Coach Josh Heupel said it’s important to remember college athletes are still young and learning. When Hooker suffered a season-ending knee injury last year, Milton took over and was 2-0 as the starter.
“For Joe and his journey — the ups and downs that he’s had from growing up, to Michigan, to Tennessee — it’s all a product of who he is today and has helped make him as strong as he is,” he said.
Hooker showed what’s possible in Heupel’s up-tempo offense, scoring 32 touchdowns and winning SEC Offensive Player of the Year last season. A more mature, well-rounded Joe Milton has people buzzing about beating Alabama two years in a row and making a sneaky run for the Heisman Trophy.
Thomas is no longer surprised by anything Milton does, especially with a football in his hands. Thomas will be in practice and marvel at the speed and accuracy of Milton’s passes.
“He might be joking around and somebody will throw him a ball from the 50 and he’ll hit the goal post,” Thomas said. “I just don’t feel like it’s normal.”
It’s not.
Missouri cornerback Kris Abrams saw it firsthand last season when Milton came on in relief of Hooker and was a perfect 3-for-3. “He threw a bomb!” Abrams said, dumbfounded months later by Milton’s 58-yard pass in the fourth quarter. The only comparison he could come up with for Miltons’ arm was former LSU great JaMarcus Russell. But, Abrams added, “He can run it, too.”
Heupel had another comp: Brett Favre.
It’s not just that Milton can fit the ball into tight windows, Warren said, it’s that he can pick any window on the field he wants — whether it’s smack-dab between two defenders or a spot 70-plus yards downfield.
No one else in the country can make those throws, Warren said.
“No doubt that guy can.”
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Joe Milton shows off arm strength at Manning Passing Academy
Tennessee QB Joe Milton puts his electric arm on display at the Manning Passing Academy.
WHEN THE MOMENT finally arrived, Milton dressed for the occasion. He put on a fresh Manning Passing Academy cap for the night’s throwing competition, turning it backward, and black socks with “I’m Expensive” written in white lettering. And, despite the sun setting an hour earlier, he wore sunglasses for good measure.
“He’s got a hose!” Cooper Manning, the emcee, warned the crowd before one of Milton’s early throws. He told the volunteers to clear out of the bushes behind the end zone just in case they got pegged.
Cooper laughed into the microphone after one of Milton’s 50-yard-plus bombs. He said he’d never seen anything like it.
“Can you get arrested for having a big arm?” he asked incredulously.
Then Milton really went for it, taking a breezy crow hop and letting it fly on a post route.
“Holy cow!” Cooper said before the towering pass had even reached its zenith.
It traveled at least 80 yards to the back-left corner of the end zone. Texas quarterback coach Brian Thiebaud said it was “the craziest throw I’ve ever seen.”
Finally came the main event: the Long Shot challenge. Three golf carts were set up on the field, dressed in oversized bull’s-eye targets. One cart ran the equivalent of a short drag route. Another cart ran an intermediate post. And the final cart ran a go-route straight down the sideline, punching the gas.
The college quarterbacks went in alphabetical order. Some hit the first target, some hit the second. But none hit the third target until Milton stepped up and made it look easy.
His final pass came down hard on the golf cart in the end zone, and Guidry Stadium erupted in applause.
Milton did a backflip as an exclamation point.
Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers was waiting his turn and couldn’t believe what he’d seen. Milton, he said, has the “strongest arm in the world.”
“I saw Anthony Richardson last year,” Rogers said. “I think it’s flying over his ball.”
Jim Nagy, a former scout who runs the Senior Bowl, flashed back to Richardson, too. The former Florida quarterback punctuated his Long Shot performance with a backflip as well. Viewed as an unproven passer with untapped potential, Richardson wound up getting selected with the No. 4 overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts.
Sound familiar? The knock on Milton has always been that he struggles with the short-to-intermediate passes. Sometimes he throws it too hard, sailing it over or through his receivers’ hands. Dooley said against Clemson, “He was proving to himself that he could get this s— done.” But the questions about Milton’s touch persist. “We’ve done every goddamn drill I can think of,” Dooley said. “Right now, either we can do it or we can’t. It’s as simple as that.”
“In terms of any quarterback in his class, he’s maybe the guy I’m most excited to see what it looks like,” Nagy said. “Because the physical tools are undeniable. I mean, the arm strength and the athleticism.”
Milton might not be in the same conversation as top-five prospects like Caleb Williams or Maye right now, but don’t be surprised if he’s a quick riser. While accuracy and processing ability are the two most important traits NFL general managers and scouts are looking for, Nagy said, “It’s hard not to become enamored with arm strength when you’re an evaluator.”
Richardson isn’t the only example. Josh Allen completed a pedestrian 56.2% of passes and 21 interceptions in 27 games at Wyoming, and he’s blossomed into a star for the Buffalo Bills.
But we’re probably getting ahead of ourselves. Milton has to get through this season first. Up next is a game on the road against the Florida Gators on Saturday.
Rest assured that Milton is confident he and Tennessee will come out on top. As he told reporters at the Manning Passing Academy, “I don’t lose in Florida.”
But that wasn’t the only interesting thing he said before leaving Thibodaux. Before he stepped into the main interview room, he told ESPN the exact answer to the question so many had been asking: What’s the farthest he’s thrown a football?
He’d given only ballparks before — 80-plus, 90-something, far enough. But he went into specifics this time.
“Ninety-seven yards,” he said.
He wasn’t joking.
If he made 80-plus look easy, imagine if he reared back and really put his whole body into it?
Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
USC secured the commitment of former Oregon defensive tackle pledge Tomuhini Topui on Tuesday, a source told ESPN, handing the Trojans their latest recruiting victory in the 2026 cycle over the Big Ten rival Ducks.
Topui, ESPN’s No. 3 defensive tackle and No. 72 overall recruit in the 2026 class, spent five and half months committed to Oregon before pulling his pledge from the program on March 27. Topui attended USC’s initial spring camp practice that afternoon, and seven days later the 6-foot-4, 295-pound defender gave the Trojans his pledge to become the sixth ESPN 300 defender in the program’s 2026 class.
Topui’s commitment gives USC its 10th ESPN 300 pledge this cycle — more than any other program nationally — and pulls a fourth top-100 recruit into the impressive defensive class the Trojans are building this spring. Alongside Topui, USC’s defensive class includes in-state cornerbacks R.J. Sermons (No. 26 in ESPN Junior 300) and Brandon Lockhart (No. 77); four-star outside linebacker Xavier Griffin (No. 27) out of Gainesville, Georgia; and two more defensive line pledges between Jaimeon Winfield (No. 143) and Simote Katoanga (No. 174).
The Trojans are working to reestablish their local recruiting presence in the 2026 class under newly hired general manager Chad Bowden. Topui not only gives the Trojans their 11th in-state commit in the cycle, but his pledge represents a potentially important step toward revamping the program’s pipeline to perennial local powerhouse Mater Dei High School, too.
Topui will enter his senior season this fall at Mater Dei, the program that has produced a long line of USC stars including Matt Leinart, Matt Barkley and Amon-Ra St. Brown. However, if Topui ultimately signs with the program later this year, he’ll mark the Trojans’ first Mater Dei signee since the 2022 cycle, when USC pulled three top-300 prospects — Domani Jackson, Raleek Brown and C.J. Williams — from the high school program based in Santa Ana, California.
Topui’s flip to the Trojans also adds another layer to a recruiting rivalry rekindling between USC and Oregon in the 2026 cycle.
Tuesday’s commitment comes less than two months after coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans flipped four-star Oregon quarterback pledge Jonas Williams, ESPN’s No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in 2026. USC is expected to continue targeting several Ducks commits this spring, including four-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene, another top prospect out of Mater Dei.
Missouri quarterback Drew Pyne has entered the portal as a graduate transfer, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
Pyne is looking to move to his fourth school after stints at Notre Dame, Arizona State and Missouri. He’ll be a sixth-year senior this fall.
Pyne joined Missouri last year as a backup for senior starter Brady Cook. He earned one start, leading the Tigers to a 30-23 comeback win over Oklahoma while Cook was sidelined by ankle and wrist injuries.
Missouri brought in former Penn State quarterback Beau Pribulavia the transfer portal this offseason. He’ll compete with redshirt junior Sam Horn and true freshman Matt Zollers, the No. 86 overall recruit in the 2025 ESPN 300, for the opportunity to start this season.
Pyne, a former ESPN 300 recruit, began his career at Notre Dame and started 10 games for the Fighting Irish in 2022. He threw for 2,021 yards on 65% passing and scored 24 total touchdowns with six interceptions while winning eight of his starts.
After the Irish brought in grad transfer quarterback Sam Hartman, Pyne transferred to Arizona State but appeared in just two games with the Sun Devils before an injury forced him to sit out the rest of the season.
Pyne played 211 snaps over six appearances for the Tigers last season and threw for 391 yards on 60% passing with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
The NCAA’s spring transfer window opens April 16, but graduate transfers are permitted to put their name in the portal at any time. More than 160 FBS scholarship quarterbacks have already transferred this offseason.
There are slow starts, there are slumps, and then there is whatever Rafael Devers is going through.
The 28-year-old three-time All-Star for the Boston Red Sox has been one of baseball’s best hitters since 2019, posting three 30-homer seasons, three 100-RBI seasons and a whole bunch of doubles.
His first five games of 2025 have been a nightmare. It’s the early-season equivalent of dealing Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. Johnny Pesky holding the ball. Bucky Dent. The ball rolling through Bill Buckner’s legs. Aaron Boone. Just to name a few Red Sox references. Here’s how those games unfolded for Devers:
Game 1: 0-for-4, three strikeouts Game 2: 0-for-4, four strikeouts Game 3: 0-for-4, three strikeouts, walk, RBI Game 4: 0-for-4, two strikeouts, walk Game 5: 0-for-3, three strikeouts, two walks
He became the first player to strike out 12 times in a team’s first four games. And, yes, with 15 strikeouts through five games he shattered the old record of 13, shared by Pat Burrell in 2001 and Byron Buxton in 2017. Going back to the end of 2024, when Devers fanned 11 times over his final four games, he became the fourth player with multiple strikeouts in nine straight games — and one of those was a pitcher (the other two were a rookie named Aaron Judge in 2016 and Michael A. Taylor in 2021).
With Devers struggling, the Red Sox have likewise stumbled out of the gate, going 1-4 after some lofty preseason expectations, including an 8-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the home opener Monday. To be fair, it’s not all on Devers: Jarren Duran, Devers and Alex Bregman, the top three hitters in the lineup, are a combined 11-for-62 (.177) with no home runs.
But there is one question weighing heaviest on the minds of Red Sox Nation right now: What is really going on with Devers?
It’s easy to say his head simply isn’t in the right space. Devers made headlines early in spring training after the Red Sox signed Bregman, saying he didn’t want to move to DH and that “third base is my position.” He pointed out that when he signed his $331 million extension in January of 2023, the front office promised he would be the team’s third baseman.
That, however, was when a different regime was in charge. Bregman, a Gold Glove winner in 2024, is the better defensive third baseman, so it makes sense to play him there and move Devers — except many players don’t like to DH. Some analysts even build in a “DH penalty,” assuming a player will hit worse there than when he plays the field. While Devers eventually relented and said he’d do whatever will help the team, it was a rocky situation for a few weeks.
But maybe it’s something else. While Devers avoided surgery this offseason, he spent it trying to rebuild strength in both shoulders after dealing with soreness and inflammation throughout 2024. He didn’t play the field in spring training and had just 15 plate appearances. So maybe he is still rusty — or the shoulder(s) are bothering him.
Indeed, Statcast metrics show his average bat speed has dropped from 72.5 mph in 2024 to 70.3 mph so far in 2025 (and those are down from 73.4 mph in 2023). His “fast-swing rate” has dropped from 34.2% in 2023 to 27.9% to 12.2%. Obviously, we’re talking an extremely small sample size for this season, but it’s clear Devers isn’t generating the bat speed we’re used to seeing from him.
That, however, doesn’t explain the complete inability to make contact. Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters after the series in Texas that Devers had made alterations with his foot placement — but was having trouble catching up to fastballs. Following Monday’s game, Devers told reporters (via his interpreter) that, “Obviously this is not a position that I’ve done in the past. So I need to get used to it. But I feel good, I feel good.”
Which leads to this question: Does this historic bad start mean anything? Since the DH began in 1973, three DHs began the season with a longer hitless streak than Devers’ 0-for-19 mark, so let’s dig into how the rest of their seasons played out:
Don Baylor with the 1982 Angels (0-for-20). Baylor ended up with a pretty typical season for him: .263/.329/.424, 24 home runs.
Evan Gattis of the 2015 Astros (0-for-23). Gattis hit .246 with 27 home runs — not as good as he hit in 2014 or 2016, but in line with his career numbers.
Curtis Terry with the Rangers in 2021 (0-for-20). Terry was a rookie who ended up playing just 13 games in the majors.
Expanding beyond just the DH position, I searched Baseball-Reference for players in the wild-card era (since 1995) who started a season hitless in at least 20 plate appearances through five games. That gave us a list of … just seven players, including Evan Carter (0-for-22) and Anthony Rendon (0-for-20) last season. Both ended up with injury-plagued seasons. The list also includes Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, who was 0-for-24 for the Houston Astros in 1995. He was fine: He hit .302/.406/.483 that season, made the All-Star team and finished 10th in the MVP voting. J.D. Drew started 0-for-25 through five games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005; he hit .286/.412/.520, although an injury limited him to 72 games.
But none of those hitters struck out nearly as often as Devers has.
So let’s focus on the strikeouts and expand our search to most strikeouts through the 15 first games of a season. Given his already astronomical total, Devers is likely to rank high on such a list even if he starts making more contact. Seventeen players struck out at least 25 times through 15 games, topped by Yoan Moncada and Miguel Sano with 29, both in 2018. Not surprisingly, all these seasons have come since 2006 and 12 since 2018.
How did that group fare?
They were actually OK, averaging a .767 OPS and 20 home runs. The best of the group was Matt Olson in 2023, who struck out 25 times in 15 games, but was also hitting well with a .317/.423/.650 line. He went on to hit 53 home runs. The next best season belongs to Giancarlo Stanton in 2018, his first with the Yankees. He finished with 38 home runs and an .852 OPS — but that was a big drop from his MVP season in 2017, when he mashed 59 home runs. His strikeout rate increased from 23.6% in 2017 to 29.9% — and he’s never been as good.
Indeed, that’s the worrisome thing for Devers: Of the 16 players who played the season before (Trevor Story was a rookie in 2016 when he struck out 25 times in 15 games, albeit with eight home runs), 13 had a higher OPS the previous season, many significantly so.
As Cora argued Monday, it’s a small sample size. “You know, this happens in July or August, we’d not even be talking about it,” he said.
That doesn’t really sound quite forthright. A slump, even a five-game slump, with this many strikeouts would absolutely be a topic of discussion. Still, that’s all the Red Sox and Devers have to go on right now: It’s just a few games, nothing one big game won’t fix. They just hope it comes soon.