62 JULY 2019 • BASEBALLAMERICA.COMDepartments
MINORSNEXT DIRTBAG
IN LINE
Jarren Duran is on track to be the
next star from Long Beach Stateby KYLE GLASERT
he long line of Long Beach State infielders in the major
leagues is a storied one.
It began with Jason Giambi and Chris Gomez in the
early 1990s, picked up steam in the 2000s with Bobby
Crosby, Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria, Danny Espinosa and
Matt Duffy and has continued most recently with Jeff McNeil
and Garrett Hampson.
In large part because of those infield standouts, Long Beach
State alumni have produced more wins above replacement,
according to Baseball-Reference.com, in the majors since 1999
than any other college program.
Jarren Duran is well aware of that tradition. With every swing
this year, he is looking more and more like the next Dirtbag in
line.
Drafted last year in the seventh round, Duran led the minor
leagues with a .387 batting average through June 2 for high Class
A Salem. The athletic 22-year-old recorded a hit in 39 of 50
games, owned a .456 on-base percentage and .543 slugging per-
centage and was 18-for-22 in stolen bases.
He was promoted to Double-A Portland on June 3.
It’s a breakout campaign few saw coming. Given Duran’s ped-
igree, however, it’s not entirely shocking.
“I don’t really try and look at (the history) because I don’t
want to get ahead of myself,” Duran said. “I just kind of want to
be where my feet are, and that’s right here in High-A ball.”
Duran’s exceptional speed, which grades as a 70 on the 20-to-
80 scouting scale, was the main attribute that attracted scouts
to him in college, but those same evaluators had concerns about
his bat.
Duran hit .294 over three seasons as Long Beach State’s start-
ing second baseman and never showed much power, though
he always managed to get on base at a high clip to let his speed
play.
As soon as he got to pro ball, however, Duran began to hit. He
batted .357/.394/.516 while moving up to low Class A Greenville
last year in his pro debut, and then sat comfortably above .380
for more than two months as Salem’s leadoff hitter.
“I’m just trying to do the little things,” Duran said. “Line
drives, ground balls, get on base for the big guys.
“I think I’m just going out there and having fun honestly. I
don’t put too much pressure on myself. I just go out there and
play the way I know how to play.”
While Duran is having fun, the pitchers he’s facing are decid-
edly not. That’s been the case for the better part of two seasonsnow, both of which Salem manager Corey
Wimberly has experienced up close.
“He hits the ball hard, man, and it
doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the fastest
guys in baseball as well,” said Wimberly,
who also managed Duran at short-season
Lowell last year and knows a thing or two
about basestealing, having swiped 307 in
a 10-year minor league career.
“He barrels up a lot of balls, and he
controls the strike zone really well and
he’s aggressive,” Wimberly said. “When
he gets a pitch in the zone, he’s ready to
hit it.”
What makes Duran’s performance even
more impressive is the fact he’s done it
while learning a new position. A second
baseman at Long Beach State, Duran
bounced between second base, right field
and center field in his pro debut after
signing last year and moved to center
field full-time this year.
Evaluators who have scouted Duran
this season note he still has to improve
his positioning and instincts in centerfield—not unexpected for someone who
only recently started playing the posi-
tion—but that he has the speed and ath-
leticism to stay there.
“Getting used to center field has been
the biggest challenge,” Duran said.
“Mostly the angles of the ball because
it’s way different than left field and right
field. I feel like I’ve gotten way more
comfortable. I have a good coaching staff
that helps me.”
Duran knows he still has a long way to
go to join his Long Beach State prede-
cessors as a major leaguer and is quick to
dismiss talk of it.
At the same time, with the way he’s
performing, those around him don’t
expect it to be long before he becomes
the latest former Dirtbags infielder to
make his mark at baseball’s highest level.
“I think he can be great,” Wimberly
said. “That’s all I’ve seen out of him. I
think he can continue everything he’s
doing right now as he moves up through
the levels, and I expect nothing less.” nJarren Duran hit .387
in the Carolina League
before the Red Sox pro-
moted him to Double-A
in June. He can hit and
he can run, and he is
learning to play center
field after playing sec-
ond base in college.TOM PRIUDDY/FS; STEPHEN DUNN; RONALD MARTINEZ; ELSA; GLENN ASAKAWA/THE DENVER POST VIA GETTY IMAGES; JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES