Why Bobby Dalbec’s Triple-A Success Hasn’t Translated To MLB Level

Sox Talk with Will Middlebrooks is a recurring content series on NESN.com. Middlebrooks, a former Red Sox player and current NESN analyst, gives his insight and opinion on pertinent Red Sox storylines throughout the season. You can read the latest stories from the series here.

The difference in results for Bobby Dalbec is glaring.

In the sparing playing time the 28-year-old received with the Red Sox since being Boston’s everyday first baseman in 2021, just making contact at the plate has been a struggle. But down a level with Triple-A Worcester, Dalbec is a potent power hitter.

Dalbec can’t find a way to translate his Triple-A success to the big leagues, though. After spending the majority of last season with Worcester, where he bashed 33 home runs and collected 79 RBIs, the Red Sox gave Dalbec another chance to start this season as he made the Opening Day roster in a backup corner infielder role.

Things only went from bad to worse for Dalbec, though. He batted just .132 in 22 games with the Red Sox and struck out an eye-popping 28 times in 53 at-bats. Back down at Triple-A, Dalbec has hit six homers and added 14 RBIs while batting .222 in the same number of games heading into Wednesday night.

It’s a conundrum Dalbec can’t seem to solve. At this point, Will Middlebrooks sees it as being more mental than physical for Dalbec.

“It’s frustrating in the fact that not only has he done it at Triple-A and shown he can do it there, but he’s also done it in the big leagues,” Middlebrooks told NESN.com. “It is frustrating, but at some point it becomes a mental thing where I guarantee if he gets called back up to the big leagues he’s like, ‘(Expletive). Here we go again.’

“You’re mentally beating yourself up instead of taking the approach of, ‘You know what, the same way I feel in Triple-A, the same approach, the same way going about my work in the cage and batting practice and (bring) all that to the big leagues.’ Then, you get to the big leagues and you think you have to do things differently, and you don’t, especially for guys like him.”

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Dalbec turned in very respectable offensive production during his first full season in the majors in 2021 and played a part in the Red Sox reaching the American League Championship Series. He batted .240 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs that season.

He hasn’t combined for those numbers in the three seasons since, playing 160 games and accumulating a .203 batting average with 13 homers and 44 RBIs.

It seems that when Dalbec is with the Red Sox, the wheels are just spinning too fast when he digs into the batter’s box.

“He’s a really smart guy and I think sometimes that can really hurt you as a hitter,” Middlebrooks said. “Because you just overthink and overthink and overthink, especially when you’re a guy like him, who can do it, but at the big league level, the results haven’t been there at all. He’s a thinker in a lot of aspects of life and that’s great. But as a hitter, it’s not.”

While Triple-A is just one step away from the big leagues, the jump is greater than some may expect. Middlebrooks knows that as good as anyone with 230 Triple-A games in his career under his belt.

“There’s a reason there’s Triple-A and the big leagues,” Middlebrooks said. “There’s a big difference in talent level. I think the biggest thing is scouting reports and metrics and the way big league preparation is compared to Triple-A. It’s not that Triple-A and minor leagues don’t prepare, it’s just not on the same level.”

Middlebrooks said in the majors, the opposition will find the “chinks in the armor” and relentlessly attack them.

They’ve certainly done that with Dalbec, who has even got some playing time in the outfield with Worcester to try to make it back to the bigs. Dalbec has found a way for the most part to cover up his offensive limitations at Triple-A, but in the majors, they continue to be fully exposed with an answer to it not in sight.

“Mixing speeds on him. Obviously, getting ahead of him with fastballs up and in. (Throwing) off-speed and him chasing,” Middlebrooks said. “He wasn’t able to make an adjustment and the big leagues will continue to just eat you alive until you get better at your deficiencies.”