Spring training stats don't count for much -- Red Sox fans of a certain age remember hometown hero Mickey Pina tearing up Winter Haven in 1990 before stalling at Pawtucket -- but sometimes they signal an improved approach that could actually carry into the season.
And this brings us to Bobby Dalbec.
The slugging first baseman has alternated between highs and lows dating back to his college career at Arizona, where a breakout sophomore year sent him soaring up draft boards before a junior slump dropped him to the Red Sox in the fourth round.
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He eventually emerged as a legitimate power prospect in the minors before reaching Boston at the end of the truncated 2020 season. He slammed eight homers in just 23 games while showing power from foul pole to foul pole.
That promise quickly dissipated in a hail of strikeouts last spring, but just when it looked like he should be sent to Triple-A Worcester, Dalbec caught fire in August, hitting .339 with seven homers and 21 RBIs en route to Player of the Month honors.
While much attention was focused on the impact of trade deadline acquisition Kyle Schwarber in resurrecting the team's fortunes, Dalbec did as much as anyone to keep the lineup afloat through a nasty COVID outbreak.
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Alas, the good times did not last. Dalbec hit just .194 down the stretch before going 0 for 12 in the postseason. Though he ended up launching a respectable 25 homers, he struck out more than a third of the time. The Red Sox entered the winter with first base as a reasonable area of potential upgrade.
They passed on Schwarber and former MVP Freddie Freeman, among others, however, and opened camp with Dalbec still entrenched, but with prospect Triston Casas casting an imposing shadow.
Dalbec clearly doesn't plan on giving up his spot without a fight, however, and has opened the spring as one of Boston's hottest hitters, with a pair of homers and a 1.302 OPS in his first five games. Miniscule sample aside, his swing looks shorter to the ball and more controlled, and Dalbec feels his increased confidence after an offseason focused on timing.
"I think I was more worried about my mechanics last year than being on time and seeing the ball," he said recently. "That's just how it goes. When you're late, you're not going to have a good swing. I was trying to have a good swing while being late and that's just not something that's easy to do. Being early is just the way to go for me."
An improved Dalbec could make a considerable difference in a Red Sox lineup that has already added All-Star infielder Trevor Story. With the Blue Jays boasting top-to-bottom thunder and the Rays ready to unleash the force that is Wander Franco, the Red Sox will need contributions from more than the usual suspects to keep pace.
Dalbec is the most obvious candidate to make a leap. He credits a cage session with Schwarber in Detroit last year for helping him shift his focus from the pursuit of perfect mechanics to a recognition that it's much more important to be on time and under control.
"It showed me that it was never a swing thing," Dalbec said. "That's what it started out as us talking about and he kind of got me to realize it wasn't about the swing, it was about the other stuff."
The Red Sox have the potential for massive power in their infield. Story, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, and third baseman Rafael Devers have each already topped 30 homers. A locked-in Dalbec could easily join them, not that he's thinking that far ahead.
"I'm just trying to be the best I can," Dalbec said. "We're all teammates and we're all trying to help each other out by making sure we're better, so that's the most important thing."