The Red Sox season starts July 24th. John Tomase joins Tom Giles to discuss who will be the most disappointing, and who will be the breakout star.
Jarren Duran does not seem interested in waiting his turn to play in the big leagues. Every chance he gets, he makes the Red Sox take notice.
Last year, that meant transforming himself from unheralded seventh-round draft pick into a .400 hitter for a big chunk of the minor league season. During spring training, it meant showing off his incredible speed in center field while slamming a home run and triple and delivering consistently solid contact.
And on Monday night in his first action of spring training 2.0, it meant putting on a show.
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Summoned with a group of prospects working out in Pawtucket so most of the regulars could have the night off, Duran lashed a pair of doubles and made two tremendous catches in center field as the Red Sox concluded their intrasquad slate.
The 23-year-old Long Beach State product dazzled the same players who could one day be his teammates in the big leagues, perhaps as Jackie Bradley Jr.'s replacement in center field.
"He's really good, man," said starter Martin Perez. "I love how he plays baseball, and I love how he runs the bases. He's got amazing talent and a good future with us here. So his time is coming, and hopefully, I'll be here to enjoy it when we give him a chance to play at the big league level."
That time may be sooner than later. Making Duran's performance even more impressive is that it came in his first game action since spring training was halted more than four months ago.
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Duran was asked how he managed to hit the ground running after such a long layoff.
"Probably just because I wasn't really thinking," he said. "I was like, 'I missed baseball so much, I'm just happy to be here.' It was an honor that they asked me to come play today. Just an intrasquad, but it means a lot to me that they asked me to come play for them. I was just enjoying it. I wasn't thinking too much. I was just going out there, having fun playing baseball again."
Duran spent the pandemic in his native California, working out at his alma mater, "until the Angels moved over there, and then they kicked me out." Manager Ron Roenicke saluted the youngster's skills, particularly after the layoff.
"How do you do that?" Roenicke asked. "You sit out for three and a half months and then you come back right where you left off. He's an exciting player. We see his speed and the way he chases balls down in the outfield and the double he hit, how fast he got to second. He's explosive, and we just hope all those tools continue to develop and he should be a really exciting player."
Even though Duran hasn't played above Double A, Roenicke didn't sound like someone closing the door on him appearing in Fenway Park for real.
"I say he's a ways off, but because of his talent, if you put it together, there's no reason why he can't come quick," Roenicke said. "He does so many things well that you never know. It could take a while, but he could figure it out and if he figures it out, he's going to be some kind of player."
With the minor league season canceled, Duran will spend the summer in limbo. Instead of adding another rung to his developmental ladder, he'll remain stationary — though not if he has anything to say about it.
"It's obviously going to be tough because you know you're not going to have the resources like you usually do but I think it really just depends on how bad you want it," he said. "We have enough to get better. If you want to work hard, you're going to go in every day pushing yourself to get better every day. I think it really depends on how bad you want it."
