It bears repeating... Here are the 2016 and 2017 numbers for these guys:
Moreland
2016: 22 hr in 460 ab
2017: 22 hr in 508 ab
* So it would seem you can figure that Moreland is about a 22 hr kind of guy
Pedroia
2016: 15 hr in 633 ab (1 hr every 42 ab)
2017: 7 hr in 406 ab (1 hr every 58 ab)
Career: 1 hr every 43 ab
* It would seem that Pedroia is basically a 1 hr every 45 ab or so guy; will only play half the season though
Bogaerts
2016: 21 hr in 652 ab (1 hr every 31 ab)
2017: 10 hr in 571 ab (1 hr every 57 ab)
* Is Bogaerts more of a 1 hr every 31 ab guy or 1 every 57 ab guy? Clearly he's capable of at least being a 1 hr every 40 ab guy, which would translate into about 15-16 homers over a full season.
Betts
2016: 31 hr in 672 ab (1 hr every 22 ab)
2017: 24 hr in 628 ab (1 hr every 26 ab)
* It would be fair to suggest maybe he's a 1 hr every 24 ab kind of guy, which would translate into about 28 homers over a full season.
Bradley
2016: 26 hr in 558 ab (1 hr every 21 ab)
2017: 17 hr in 482 ab (1 hr every 28 ab)
* I don't know which guy is the "real" Bradley, but let's say he can hit one hr every 25 ab; that would translate into roughly 21 homers over a full season.
Hanley
2016: 30 hr in 549 ab (1 hr every 18 ab)
2017: 23 hr in 496 ab (1 hr every 22 ab)
* Maybe his 2016 was his last really good power year and his 2017 is more like his new norm. But it wouldn't shock me to see him hit 25 homers with regular playing time.
The point is that I think it's eminently reasonable to think that among Hanley, Bradley, Betts, and Bogaerts, we could see an increase of about 16 homers or so. Just with some regression to the mean, not even taking into account a new "launch angle" approach. Add in improvement from Benintendi (just because that's hopefully what players growing into their prime do) and a full season from Devers, and I think just with the guys they have now they could improve 20-25 home runs (and maybe 40 runs or so). It would still put them near the bottom of the league but still. If their pitching is what it ought to be, then bumping up their run production by 40 runs over 162 games (that's a quarter of a run a game) would put them in the top 3 in the AL. That would be a very, very good and dangerous team.
And that's not even really asking for everything to go right. That's simply asking for guys to be somewhere in between their 2016 and 2017 numbers.
Moreland
2016: 22 hr in 460 ab
2017: 22 hr in 508 ab
* So it would seem you can figure that Moreland is about a 22 hr kind of guy
Pedroia
2016: 15 hr in 633 ab (1 hr every 42 ab)
2017: 7 hr in 406 ab (1 hr every 58 ab)
Career: 1 hr every 43 ab
* It would seem that Pedroia is basically a 1 hr every 45 ab or so guy; will only play half the season though
Bogaerts
2016: 21 hr in 652 ab (1 hr every 31 ab)
2017: 10 hr in 571 ab (1 hr every 57 ab)
* Is Bogaerts more of a 1 hr every 31 ab guy or 1 every 57 ab guy? Clearly he's capable of at least being a 1 hr every 40 ab guy, which would translate into about 15-16 homers over a full season.
Betts
2016: 31 hr in 672 ab (1 hr every 22 ab)
2017: 24 hr in 628 ab (1 hr every 26 ab)
* It would be fair to suggest maybe he's a 1 hr every 24 ab kind of guy, which would translate into about 28 homers over a full season.
Bradley
2016: 26 hr in 558 ab (1 hr every 21 ab)
2017: 17 hr in 482 ab (1 hr every 28 ab)
* I don't know which guy is the "real" Bradley, but let's say he can hit one hr every 25 ab; that would translate into roughly 21 homers over a full season.
Hanley
2016: 30 hr in 549 ab (1 hr every 18 ab)
2017: 23 hr in 496 ab (1 hr every 22 ab)
* Maybe his 2016 was his last really good power year and his 2017 is more like his new norm. But it wouldn't shock me to see him hit 25 homers with regular playing time.
The point is that I think it's eminently reasonable to think that among Hanley, Bradley, Betts, and Bogaerts, we could see an increase of about 16 homers or so. Just with some regression to the mean, not even taking into account a new "launch angle" approach. Add in improvement from Benintendi (just because that's hopefully what players growing into their prime do) and a full season from Devers, and I think just with the guys they have now they could improve 20-25 home runs (and maybe 40 runs or so). It would still put them near the bottom of the league but still. If their pitching is what it ought to be, then bumping up their run production by 40 runs over 162 games (that's a quarter of a run a game) would put them in the top 3 in the AL. That would be a very, very good and dangerous team.
And that's not even really asking for everything to go right. That's simply asking for guys to be somewhere in between their 2016 and 2017 numbers.