Jarren Duran’s start is mirroring his 2024 campaign — which might be good news for Boston

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BOSTON — Jarren Duran has shown glimpses this season of being the player he was during his 2024 All-Star campaign. Saturday’s performance, in which Duran hit a two-run homer and a game-tying two-run single and threw a runner out at the plate, was a prime example.

Jarren takes a lap 🏃

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— Red Sox (@redsox.com) May 17, 2025 at 5:16 PM

Through Sunday, Duran has a .717 OPS, a relatively quiet start to his season, especially in comparison to his final numbers from last year, when he batted .285 with an .834 OPS, 48 doubles, 14 triples and 21 homers along with 34 stolen bases in 160 games. He finished last season as the first player since Lou Brock in 1968 to lead both leagues in doubles and triples, and his 8.7 bWAR ranked fifth in the majors behind Aaron Judge (10.8), Bobby Witt Jr. (9.4), Shohei Ohtani (9.2) and Gunnar Henderson (9.1). He and Witt became the first players in MLB history with 10 or more triples, 20 or more homers, 30 or more steals and 40 or more doubles in a season.

But while he racked up impressive stats by the end of last season, his production during the first 47 games and roughly 200 plate appearances wasn’t as eye-opening. He posted a .271/.341/.443 line, with 52 hits, 14 doubles, six triples and two homers along with 10 steals. He also struck out 48 times.

Those numbers might look slightly familiar, as they’re not that far off from his current stats. On Sunday, Duran went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Boston’s 10-4 loss to Atlanta, bringing his line through 47 games and 205 plate appearances to .263/.312/.405 with 54 hits, 10 doubles, five triples and three homers along with 12 steals. He’s struck out 48 times.

His average and OPS are lower compared to last season at this point, but by and large, he’s off to a remarkably similar start in most offensive categories.

“They look the exact same as they do right now,” Duran said of his stats from both seasons. “You look at all of last year, and I’m like, ‘Why am I not doing that?’ But you don’t make or break a season in one series. It’s a long season. And I’m terrible at realizing that. I’m always thinking like, ‘Oh, I was good last year and right now I’m terrible,’ but when you really break it down, it’s about the same, my numbers are scary similar. And it’s kind of weird.”

On May 31 last year, Duran was still only hitting .253 with a .744 OPS. It wasn’t until June that he really turned it on at the plate. From June 1 through the end of the year, he hit .302 with an .883 OPS.

The Red Sox need a similar mid-season surge from Duran this year.

Boston’s offense has been struggling. Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman have been the club’s most consistent hitters thus far, with Wilyer Abreu right behind them. But rookie Kristian Campbell is currently trying to adjust as the league has caught up to him following a hot start to the year. Trevor Story hasn’t been able to find a rhythm at the plate, though he showed glimpses of a breakthrough this past week. First base was a black hole for the Red Sox even before Triston Casas went down with a knee injury, and it has been even more so without him, as they attempt to figure out a long-term solution. Meanwhile, Ceddanne Rafaela has been trending upwards offensively in recent weeks and Carlos Narváez has been better than Connor Wong offensively at catcher.

If Duran can get hot — and stay hot — in the next couple weeks, it would undoubtedly boost the top of the lineup.

“The at-bats have been better,” manager Alex Cora said. “I think he’s striking out more this year and chasing more pitches (than last year), but lately he’s been able to stay back on offspeed pitches. He’s still chasing pitches up in the zone, but he’s getting to a point that I truly believe he’s going to take off. So it’s one of those that we get caught up in the whole thing, and then you see that, oh shoot, it’s not that bad.”

Duran is by no means the only reason the Red Sox have struggled to find their collective rhythm at the plate, but the more he gets on base and puts pressure on opposing pitchers, the more difficult it becomes for them to pitch to the Red Sox.

“He’s doing a good job and he’s still playing good defense,” Cora said. “The aggression running the bases is legit. He’s going to steal bases, he’s going to do his thing. That’s one of the things (Braves starter) Chris (Sale) was talking about, when he gets really hot, it becomes very, very difficult. Because, Raffy is swinging the bat outstanding and Alex is game-changing.”

Duran’s start to this season might seem quiet as the Red Sox wait for their lineup catalyst to heat up. But if 2024 is any indication, he may get back to being the sparkplug of the offense soon.

“I’m just trying to keep it simple and just have some fun,” Duran said. “I wasn’t having fun. I was putting too much pressure on myself, but I got to focus on the boys. That’s the most important thing, focus on my teammates. And it shows. We have good results when we focus on the team. And that’s what I’m just trying to focus on right now.”

(Photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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