Boston Red Sox prospect Jarren Duran had a hot streak and showed potential in spring training. Joining him are former all-stars Joey Gallo, and Joc Pederson. These are the outfield standouts in spring training.
Jarren Duran is the Red Sox number five prospect. He does not have any MLB experience yet. Duran's top attribute is his speed where he is rated a 70 by Fangraphs and Baseball America. This makes Duran one of the fastest players on the field. The speed led to 28 stolen bases in 2019 with Double-A, and another 18 at High-A. Out of his 93 total stolen base attempts in the minor leagues he has only been caught 23 times.
This spring training Duran has shown some power. He had three home runs and six doubles in 47 at bats even though he has never been seen as a power guy. There were some reports in 2020 that Duran had changed his batting style and he saw an increase to his power after. If he can increase his power without it resulting in too many strikeouts he will have some fantasy value after he debuts.
Duran is likely to stay in the minor leagues for the 2021 season, but if the Red Sox need an outfielder due to circumstances he will be one of their best options. With his standout performance in spring training, the outfielder is beginning to show up on fantasy baseball radars.
Joey Gallo has all the power a batter could ever want or need but he has to hit the ball in order to use that power. After a batting average of only .181 in 2020 he still has plenty to prove in 2021 and beyond. It is safe to say that 2020 was Gallo's worst season. He had 40 or more home runs in 2017 and 2018, he missed time due to injury in 2019 but still had 22 home runs through 297 at bats. In 2020 he only hit 10 through 226 at bats.
This spring training Gallo hit five home runs in his first 14 at bats. Unable to keep this pace Gallo finished with six through 42 at bats. Even after slowing down I believe this is an indicator that he is on track for another 40 home run season. If he plays close to a full season Gallo should be able to hit 40 easy. Lets take a closer look at his 2017 and 2018 numbers.
2017
145 games played, 449 at bats, 41 home runs, 85 runs, 80 RBI, 36.8 K%, .209 batting average
93.3 MPH AVG EV second in MLB, 22.1 barrel % second in MLB, 51.8 hard hit% second in MLB
2018
148 games played, 500 at bats, 40 home runs, 82 runs, 92 RBI, 35.9 K%, .206 batting average
94.4 MPH AVG EV first in MLB, 22.9 barrel % first in MLB, 49.5 hard hit % first in MLB
Joey Gallo is all power. He crushes the ball half the times he makes contact, but his batting average is so low and strikeout percentage so high it almost hurts to look at. These are his two biggest concerns and fantasy managers should watch him closely this spring training to look for signs of improvement in this area. If he can improve his strikeout percentage and batting average then he will have been a draft day steal for fantasy managers in 2021.
Joc Pederson had as good a spring training as anybody else this season. He belted eight home runs tying him and former teammate Corey Seager with the lead. Pederson had the most RBI with 19 and a 1.431 OPS leading all outfielders not named Jake Marisnick (1.435).
Some perspective: Marisnick had 22 at bats while Pederson finished with 45.
The power is his number one attribute even though he still has room to grow there. His career slugging total of .470 ranks 69th among active MLB players. His 39.5% hard hit ball rate is 33rd. These numbers are good but this spring Pederson has been GREAT and could be in line to improve these statistics. Pederson has continuously ranked in the top 15% of all MLB in average exit velocity since 2014 even though he ranks lower in barrel rate and hard hit rate. If he can increase those two he could be in for a season filled with career highs.
Like Gallo, Pederson is coming off his worst season yet. A .190 batting average and .681 OPS in 2020 were the lowest of his career since his first season when he only played 18 games.
The story for Pederson in 2021 is the fact he is on a new team, the Chicago Cubs. He signed a one year seven million dollar contract this offseason on a prove it type of deal. Pederson never had the opportunity or comfortability of being named an everyday starter while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers but is going to get the opportunity for the Cubs.
Other Standouts:
Akil Baddoo: 40 AB, .325 AVG, five HR, 11 RBI, 10BB-14SO, four SB, 1.210 OPS
Will Myers: 43 AB, .395 AVG, five HR, 11 RBI, 2BB-13SO, 1.190 OPS
Austin Hays: 51 AB, .392 AVG, four HR, 13 RBI, 3BB-12SO, three SB, 1.192 OPS
Jake Marisnick: 22 AB, .409 AVG, four HR, eight RBI, 1BB-7SO, one SB, 1.435 OPS
Duran, Gallo, and Pederson are my outfield standouts in spring training for 2021. Duran is a prospect still looking for his big league debut. Gallo and Pederson are former all-stars looking to rebound from career low seasons. All these players have had an excellent spring training and hopefully can carry their performance into the regular season. (Alternate camp for Duran)
Who else would you have included? Is Marisnick's line better than Myers and Hays with fewer games played? How much do you value spring training statistics?
Feel free to answer these questions, leave a comment, different question or suggestion down below. You can reach out to me on social media as I am always available for a conversation about baseball or any sport.
All stats from Fangraphs, Baseball Reference, and MLB.com.
Featured image courtesy of The Dallas Morning News.
I’m hoping for some big things out of Joc this year! I nabbed him at 180th in my draft