The 2015 season didn't go quite as planned in Beantown. A Boston Red Sox team that many expected to win the division -- and perhaps have a nice playoff run -- instead finished last in the American League East.
But they had their moments, and a 78-84 record isn't exactly horrific. Now as we look forward, there's still a lot of promise with this franchise, as indicated by its still-favorable No. 3 ranking in ESPN Insider's MLB Future Power Rankings, posted Wednesday. Not only do the Red Sox have the most talent among MLB teams in their minor league system, according to our survey, but they still have established veteran major league talent and are still in a very good position financially.
According to our early FanGraphs projections, who will key the Red Sox's bounce-back 2016 campaign? None other than two of the three worst regulars in baseball this year: Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. Let's take a closer look at those two players from a historical context.