It's been a first half filled with pleasant surprises for the Boston Red Sox.

First and foremost, they're nine games over .500 and in possession of a Wild Card with two series remaining before the All-Star break. That was not an expectation for the vast majority of Red Sox Nation.

While lights out pitching helped buoy the team around the .500 mark until the lineup regained health, it's been the offense coming to life over the last nearly two months which has the Sox playing as well as anyone in the sport.

Boston is 6-1 in their last 7 games, they're 16-6 (.729) since June 12 - good for the 2nd-best record in MLB during that stretch - and the team is 27-16 (.628) since May 29 - the best mark in baseball.

Rafael Devers has more homers than anyone in the last two weeks and only Aaron Judge has hit more since mid-May.

Jarren Duran made his All-Star case undeniable by compelling a stat line worthy of the 5th-best WAR in baseball. Meanwhile, a host of young talent has emerged at the major league level that's taking advantage of the playing time.

Guys like David Hamilton have emerged from relative 4-A obscurity to develop into key pieces for this squad. Connor Wong has taken a jump offensively to lead all catchers in batting average. While on the mound Tanner Houck is heading to the Mid-Summer Classic and Kutter Crawford appears to have righted the ship after a few bumpy outings.

Through the first 89 games, who has been the biggest positive surprise for the Sox?

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