Maybe you’ve heard — the No. 3 prospect in the Boston Red Sox system, Jarren Duran, made his Major League Baseball debut Saturday against the New York Yankees.
His long-awaited arrival, which was pushed back even further from his call-up date when the series opener against the Yankees was postponed due to COVID-19 issues, was impressive.
Duran got a hit in his first major league at-bat, sending a 95 mph fastball from Gerrit Cole up the middle for a base hit. He scored the Red Sox’s only run in the 3-1 defeat.
But he didn’t stop there. After going 0-for-4 in Sunday’s 9-1 loss to the Yankees, he launched his first major league home run Monday in Boston’s crushing of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Red Sox general manager Brian O’Halloran joined NESN’s Tom Caron to reflect on Duran’s strong start. And he said what impressed him most about Duran wasn’t necessarily his strong stat lines.
“It’s been great,” O’Halloran said. “The thing that has stood out to me has just been the quality of the at-bats, how he looks so feel comfortable in the box and on the field, even more so than the results.
“Obviously hitting a home run, for that matter hitting a line drive, base-hit off one of the best pitchers in baseball in Gerrit Cole in his first at-bat is amazing. That’s great. But more importantly, these are good at-bats and he looks like he belongs,” O’Halloran continued. “We’re only a few games in here. As with any player, there’s going to be ups and downs and what not, but we’re so excited to have Jarren in the big leagues helping us win games.”
O’Halloran isn’t the only one who has spoken highly of the 2018 draft pick, naturally. Manager Alex Cora was pleased with the home run when he walked reporters through it Monday.
After Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays was postponed due to inclement weather, Duran will have to wait until at least Wednesday to make his next move.
