Red Sox third base coach Kyle Hudson has several friends around the league who also coach third base.
“Every time I come across them they talk about how they have to prepare differently for Jarren (Duran) this year than previous years,” Hudson said. “How he attacks the ball and what he’s done with his arm, I don’t think it’s been talked about enough. He’s obviously going and making plays in the air and catching balls and all that kind of stuff, but he’s holding runners from taking the extra 90. He’s throwing out guys.”
The improvement Duran has made defensively in one year is significant. Duran had negative-6 defensive runs saved in 731 innings in the outfield last year.
This year, he has 23 defensive runs saved in 1,312 ⅓ innings.
“And so it’s interesting to talk to those opposing guys and hear that they have to prepare for him differently,” Hudson said.
Duran, who transitioned from second base to the outfield in pro ball, is a legitimate Gold Glove candidate. His 18 defensive runs saved in center field is the fourth most by any major league defender at one position. Only Brewers second baseman Brice Turang (23), Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez (20) and Giants catcher Patrick Bailey (19) have more at a single position.
“That’s the ultimate thing,” Hudson said about winning a Gold Glove. “I think he deserves to be rewarded for what he’s done. … I’ve had guys win Gold Gloves in the past and they’re super proud of those awards when they get them. And it would be awesome for him, especially from where he came from. In the past, he’s had his struggles out there. … He hasn’t played outfield his whole career. He’s only played for a handful of years. So for him to be able to make these adjustments and become an elite defender, it’s awesome.”
Duran’s 10 outs above replacement (range) is in the 96th percentile among big league defenders. He’s in the 95th percentile in fielding run value (11). He’s also in the 88th percentile in arm value (2) and 75th percentile in arm strength (88.2 mph).
That’s a serious leap from 2023 when he ranked in the 57th percentile in outs above replacement (0), 40th percentile in fielding run value (-1), 28th percentile in arm value (-1) and 61st percentile in arm strength (86.6 mph).
“No. 1 thing for me is confidence,” Hudson said. “He’s very confident in his reads. He’s always been really quick to react and get really good jumps. But just the ability after that to track the ball and to close ground and to actually finish the play. For me, all of that comes with confidence and his confidence to finish the play is where he’s kind of taken off for me. Because he’s finishing balls that he’s getting to now where in the past he’s maybe gotten to the ball but he hasn’t been able to kind of complete the play.”
Duran has five defensive runs saved in his 547 innings in left field in addition to his 18 defensive runs saved in 765 ⅓ innings in center field.
“I’m not surprised by anything he does to be honest with you just because of how he is,” Hudson said. “I don’t know if I’ve been around a guy who works as hard as him and as diligently as him.
“I thought he could be an above average defender. I didn’t know if I saw him making this big of a jump this quickly,” Hudson added. “Obviously with the tools that he has and the way he moves, those abilities, but for him to make the jump that he has is just a testament to who he is and the work he has put in.”
The Red Sox have done a good job with positioning, putting all their outfielders in favorable spots to make plays.
“We obviously have our model and what comes down (from the analytics department) and we’re able to adjust off that,” Hudson said. We’ve worked hard on what that looks like. I work with the guys upstairs to kind of put together a model and then we talk about what’s important and areas that we want to be able to cover and all that. And the thing about it is that it’s not just a one-stop thing if that makes sense. Each outfielder has the ability to do different things. And each outfielder is unique. So you can adjust that positioning. Even if the model comes back and says, ‘We want the center fielder here,’ you probably don’t want Duran in the same spot as (Ceddanne) Rafaela and vice versa. And so they give us the ability to kind of adjust that at times. And it’s been really good for the most part. And guys feel like they’re in good spots.”
