Boston Red Sox can thank Dustin Pedroia for Jarren Duran’s improvement

Sometimes, professional athletes just need a few tips from former greats to get them going. That seems to be happening right now in the Boston Red Sox organization.

The Boston Red Sox so far this 2023 season have been surprising a lot of people. At 21-16, they are showing the entire MLB that they are not a doormat for teams just to walk all over.

They just recently swept their A.L East counterpart in the Toronto Blue Jays, and then taking two out of three from the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies.

They seem to be getting contributions from a lot of different players. But one in particular that is standing out is speedy left-handed hitting outfielder Jarren Duran.

Duran had a really rough 2022 season, with a combination of a bad approach at the plate and lackluster defense at times.

But this year in 2023, he seems to be putting it all together. What helped? Well, Red Sox legendary second baseman Dustin Pedroia seems to have had an effect on the young Red Sox outfielder.

Boston Red Sox having Dustin Pedroia help Jarren Duran with his hitting

In Spring Training, Dustin Pedroia was giving Jarren Duran tips on where to position his hands for more consistent production.

With a .360 average, two homeruns, 13 RBIs, and a .991 OPS in 21 games; safe to say Pedroia has helped a ton.

The biggest thing was the hand placement of Duran’s hands in his swing. Pedroia seemingly suggested to start the hands higher because of Duran’s speed and strength.

Whatever else Pedroia said seems to be working, because Duran looks like a completely different player this season. Dare I say…a starting outfielder for this Boston Red Sox team?

Boston Red Sox getting a more confident Jarren Duran

Give an inch and you can take a mile. That seems to be what happened after Pedroia worked with Duran a little bit in 2023 Spring Training. The Red Sox outfielder has taken the tidbits he was given and ran with them.

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You can just see it in everything in he does. From the way he’s interacting with his teammates, to the way he’s simply having fun playing the game again. Jarren Duran is a different player and person all together in 2023.

Remember the Blue Jays game in 2022 when he gave up in the fly ball over his head? Yeah, that Jarren Duran is seemingly gone now! Why? Because his confidence is growing game in and game out.

Bottom line with the Boston Red Sox having Dustin Pedroia helping Jarren Duran

It’s great to see just how much of a difference a few suggestions can make for a player’s career. Now the only question is: can Jarren Duran sustain this type of success for an entire MLB season?

If so, then the Red Sox have another hitter in the lineup that can be dangerous. He can go along with the likes of Masataka Yoshida, Alex Verdugo, and Rafael Devers to make the Red Sox a tough lineup to pitch against.

If not, hopefully we see this production for at least a little while longer.

My opinion? I think this version of Duran is here to stay for the long-term.