3 Players Rewarding Patience
It has been stated multiple times that the gap between the big leagues and the minors has never been larger. It is rare for a rookie to make a big impact upon his arrival in the show. For some, it takes a few years for players to figure it out. 3 Former top 30 prospects are finally breaking out after a disappointing start to their careers.
Jarren Duran
Duran was not a super high draft pick (7th round pick in ‘18) but turned himself into a big prospect. The 2020 canceled minor league season presented Duran with an opportunity to develop his body and improve strength. Duran tweaked his swing and started hitting home runs (16 in AAA in 60 games in ‘21). All of his hard work catapulted his way in the rankings as he went from being an unranked prospect to #29 according to Baseball America.
When Duran was called up by Boston, it was clear that Duran was not a finished product. Although the power was there in the minors, it did not translate. MLB pitchers quickly found a hole in Duran’s swing as he was constantly attacked with high fastballs above the zone, which he could not get to with his swing trying to maximize launch angle. In Duran’s first 335 ABs in the show, he hit .218 with a 32% K-rate. Not only was Duran not ready at the plate, but defensively he struggled. He also struggled to handle the pressure of playing in Boston.
Duran entered Spring Training with a new batting stance, one that saw his hands higher to hit the ball up in the zone. Despite not starting the season with the big league club, an injury to Adam Duvall gave Duran a chance. Entering today, Duran is hitting .436 with a .718 slugging percentage in 44 plate appearances. Duran is hitting the baseball to all fields and has lowered his K-rate to 27.3%. I am talking about a small sample size with Duran but the Boston center fielder ranks 8th in all of baseball in average exit velocity (95.3 mph). With the new stance, lower K-rate, and high exit velocity, it appears Duran has figured things out at the big league level.
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