Bobby Dalbec isn’t the only one who has high expectations for himself in the 2020 Major League Baseball season.
The Boston Red Sox prospect is among the rookies MLB executives expect to “contribute the most” next season, according to poll results MLB.com’s Jim Callis published Friday. Dalbec finished in seventh place, garnering 4 percent of the vote.
“Dalbec offers well above-average raw power and arm strength, and despite solid defense at the hot corner he won’t displace Rafael Devers and instead will compete for the Red Sox’s first-base job,” Callis wrote.
Dalbec is among eight players the Red Sox invited to next week’s Rookie Development Camp and he’ll begin the season on Boston’s 40-man roster.
The dedication he has shown in his offseason workouts and his stellar play for Team USA at the Premier12 Tournament have impressed Red Sox officials and manager Alex Cora, who said last month at the MLB winter meetings he expects Dalbec to make in impact “sooner than later for us.”
Words and expectations won’t guarantee Dalbec either shines in Boston or even spends the entire season with the big-league club. However, offseason admiration from near and far likely will fuel hopes of both happening.
