Boston Red Sox: Will Bobby Dalbec walk the same path as Michael Chavis?
By Damian Dydyn
Will Bobby Dalbec walk the same path as Michael Chavis?
It’s not hopeless, however. Dalbec missed a chunk of the year recovering from a broken hamate bone, which may have impacted him early on.
That brings us to the ray of hope. After returning from surgery, Dalbec continued to struggle for a while, but something changed in late July. Over his final month, we got a flash of what stunned fans and prospect evaluators alike in 2016.
Dalbec’s season finished up with a run of .297/.407/.576 with seven home runs and 22 RBIs in 31 games. It’s encouraging, even if he has a lot of work to do. Of course, so did Chavis who was able to lower his strikeout percentage from 30.6% three seasons ago to the low 20’s last year.
While Dalbec’s power is back, the strikeouts are still a problem. He was rung up in 38.4% of those plate appearances, similar to Chavis’ 30.6% in 2015 at the same level.
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Even still, the overall results are encouraging and open the door for a big bounce back in 2018. If you are looking for a dark horse candidate to rocket up the Red Sox prospect list this season, Bobby Dalbec may be your man.