How batting practice with a Red Sox legend helped Jarren Duran
“He basically just told me, 'get your hands up, be athletic, act like you’re going to hit the f****** s*** out of the ball.'"
So far this season, Jarren Duran has consistently shown talents at the plate that he’s hinted at over the past few years with the Red Sox.
The 26-year-old outfielder began the year at Worcester but was called up to the majors after Adam Duvall went down with a wrist injury just a week and a half into the season.
Over his past 21 games with the Red Sox, Duran is slashing .360/.405/.587, has stolen a team-high five bases, and has played above average defense in centerfield.
He’s shown power to all parts of the field and leads the Red Sox in doubles with 11 despite playing in 15 fewer games than the other starters.
One of the keys to his success was a quick session in the batting cage with Dustin Pedroia in spring training.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Pedroia helped out Duran with a small mechanical fix in his swing. The longtime second baseman also helped boost confidence in a player who had fewer than a 100 games in the big leagues coming into the season.
“He had his hands low, I told him to get his hands up and be an athlete,” Pedroia said. “I also told him he has to be him and stop worrying about what everyone else wants him to be. He hit about 50 balls with his hands up off the machine and they were driven. And then he gave me a hug and smiled.”
When asked about the encounter, Duran didn’t shy away from the harsh terms Pedroia used with him.
“He basically just told me, ‘get your hands up, be athletic, act like you’re going to hit the f****** s*** out of the ball,” Duran said. “For him to say that to me, I was like, ‘Hell, yeah. I’m going to buy in.'”
According to Rob Refsnyder, a nearby onlooker, Pedroia did not mince his words with Duran and the results truly were instantaneous.
“Jarren was like, ‘oh, my hands are low.’ Pedroia was like, ‘Why the f*** are they there? Put ‘em up! If that’s what you feel comfortable with, do that!'” Refsnyder said. “It was just classic Pedroia, so great. Jarren had a session right after that. I was like, ‘Oh my God, what a big difference.'”
Prior to the conversation with Pedroia, Duran hadn’t produced much in the majors. Over his first two seasons in the majors, he played in 91 games, struck out more times than he got on base, and rated below average defensively in center.
While there are warning signs of a potential regression, particularly his .463 batting average on balls in play (MLB average for BABIP is .292), his Baseball Savant Page shows above average to elite advanced metrics for Duran.
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