Jarren Duran Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

TRACK RECORD: While Duran had a modest college statistical profile, thenarea scout Justin Horowitz recognized a combination of impressive bat life with the ability to keep the barrel in the zone and game-changing speed that seemed wasted at second base. Now a full-time outfielder, Duran followed an outstanding 2018 pro debut with an even better performance in high Class A Salem in the first two months of 2019, flirting with .400 while showing excellent bat-to-ball skills, speed and occasional thump. While his numbers suffered after a promotion to Double-A, the quality of his at-bats improved.

SCOUTING REPORT: Duran has an extra gear when he senses opportunity, whether beating out routine grounders or taking an extra base. He takes advantage of that trait with a contact-heavy approach, albeit one in which he sometimes cuts off his swing. While he can make contact when expanding the strike zone, his tendency to do so results in weak contact. Still, his natural strength shows up at times with hard line drives to all fields and occasional long home runs. His bat-to-ball skills allow him to get to a variety of pitch types and locations from righties and lefties. Duran is still adjusting to center field, but his speed allows him to outrun route mistakes to represent at least an average future defender.

THE FUTURE: There's still some debate as to whether Duran's offensive profile is that of an everyday or fourth outfielder. Even with his speed, he must either hit for a high average or show more power to emerge as an everyday player. Still, he has the potential to be a catalyst.