Sox to call up OF prospect Duran
Finally, the Red Sox are promoting budding star and top outfield prospect Jarren Duran.
As the Red Sox head to the Bronx for a four-game set that could bury the New York Yankees with just weeks to go before the July 31 trade deadline, Duran will be joining the team to make his big league debut.
The news was first reported by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette on Wednesday afternoon. An industry source indicated that the report was accurate and Duran will soon make his big league debut.
It’s been a long time coming, as some wondered why Duran spent the entire 2020 season at the alternate site, despite showing a strong spring training campaign that February before the pandemic shut the season down.
It looked like Duran could’ve been the starting center fielder for the 2021 Red Sox, too, but the Sox instead signed Kiké Hernandez to a two-year, $14-million contract, signed Hunter Renfroe to a one-year, $3.1-million contract and both have played well enough to justify leaving Duran in the minors.
But it hasn’t been for a lack of success.
Duran won over manager Alex Cora due to an impressive performance in the Caribbean Series over the winter. He showed up to spring training and revealed improved comfort on defense in center field, a position he had never played in college and only began learning in 2018.
But the biggest difference in Duran’s ability this year has been his power.
He totaled just three home runs over three years at Long Beach State, where he played second base and was known for his speed. Former Sox boss Dave Dombrowski drafted Duran in the seventh round in 2018 and quickly realized he had found a diamond in the rough.
By early August that same year, Duran had totaled seven doubles, 10 triples, two homers, 16 stolen bases and a .372 average through 41 games in the minor leagues.
He was the talk of the league in the low levels of the minors, and current pitching coach Dave Bush, then the minor league pitching coordinator, predicted Duran’s hot start was not an aberration.
“He’s really hitting,” Bush said that summer. “I think it’s taken everyone a little by surprise. It’s been impressive, anytime you can earn a promotion within your first month.
“It’s a stable swing. And I wouldn’t say he’s getting lucky or it’s by chance. There are guys with real balance, solid swings that do very well. In some cases, guys do better as they move up, pitchers command get better so guys with controlled swings sometimes do better. It’ll be fun to watch.”
Duran then impressed with a strong showing for Team USA in the Olympics qualifiers, earning comparisons to Mike Trout from Todd Frazier and Mike Scioscia.
Despite never hitting more than five homers in any minor league season,
Duran hit 15 of them with a .270 average, 12 stolen bases and a .926 OPS in 46 games for Worcester this year.
It’ll be interesting to see where and how often Cora uses Duran, but expect him to take over in center field against right-handed pitching while Hernandez moves to second base, letting Christian Arroyo be more of a utility man.
It’s also possible the Sox stop playing Renfroe against right-handed pitching, given he’s hitting just .244 with a .693 OPS against righties, numbers in line with his sixyear big league career.