As he ascends up the minors, the outfielder has been crushing the ball during his rehab assignment, hitting .348 with two home runs and four RBIs in seven minor league games –– with Pawtucket, Portland and Salem.
It's been 13 months since neck and shoulder injuries sidetracked Kalish's promising career. Now, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine has a plan for the outfielder as he looks to return to majors for the first time since 2010.
"What you want him to do is to face left-handers and right-handers, you want him to be hot and you want him to be not," Valentine said. "You want him to [struggle and then respond,] see him hitting the ball the other way, pull the ball, run the bases, just a long checklist of making sure he gets it done when you're out that long."
So far, Kalish has already turned heads with his play. In his first game for the PawSox on Tuesday, the outfielder unloaded a two-run home run, drove in three runs, drew three walks and collected two hits.
"Talking to him, he seems like a terrific, determined young man," Valentine said.
Kalish is currently one of six Red Sox outfielders that have been sidelined on the disabled list. When he returns, he'll continue to build toward becoming one of the team's outfielders of the future.
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