McAdam: Bobby Dalbec promises future strength in numbers

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- For all the success of the Red Sox minor league development system in recent years, the organization has struggled somewhat to produce a pure power hitter.

Sure, it's graduated Mookie Betts and seen him turn into one of the game's best overall players with one MVP already and the promise of more to come. But Betts isn't strictly a home run hitter (career best: 32). For that matter, neither is Rafael Devers or Andrew Benintendi, to cite two more recent arrivals.

Bobby Dalbec, however, is another matter.

If such a thing exists, Dalbec looks like a slugger, from his sizable frame (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) to a powerful but compact swing. On Friday, it didn't take long him to demonstrate his strength — he led off the bottom of the second with a towering homer in the Red Sox' 6-0 win over Northeastern.

It was a pretty swing, with little visible effort and great extension. Dalbec seemed to gently swat at the ball, which soared over the fence in straightaway center field.

"It was a center-cut fastball,'' offered Dalbec afterward, "and I was just trying to put a good swing on it and not do too much. I'm trying to swing as easy as I can to and put better at-bats together without a high effort level.''

Homers -- tape-measure and others -- aren't a rare occurrence for Dalbec, who belted 32 last season while splitting time between High-A Salem and Double-A. But they come with a price: Dalbec also struck out 176 times last season in 455 at-bats.

One of his goals this season is to make more consistent contact.

"I know I'm going to strike out,'' said Dalbec. "I think the power is translating now and can translate more. Maybe I can tone it down and have more two- or three-hit games instead of going 1-for-4 or 1-for-5.  (My goal is) more barrels.''

In midseason last year, Dalbec became more consistent, but the transformation had little to do with a mechanical adjustment. Rather, it tied to a different mental approach.

"In June, I kind of just started not trying to do too much,'' he said, "and being more comfortable with failure. I stopped getting so frustrated after tough games and just kind of moved on the next day and that helped a lot.''

Dalbec had missed a good chunk of the previous season with a broken hamate bone and, in hindsight, spent the first half of 2018 trying to make up for lost time. When he stopped doing so, his game flourished.

By most accounts, he's considered either the best or second-best position player prospect in the organization. He'll start the year at Double-A Portland, but from that level, the big leagues can be just a phone call away. Benintendi made the jump from Double-A in 2016 and Devers arrived after about 10 days in Triple-A in 2017.

He's not shy in admitting that he could get to Boston in the second half of this year, but realizes he can't make that his focus.

"It's definitely a goal,'' he said. "I'm kind of in the mindset of 'I'll get there when I get there.' I don't know if I'll get there this year. Everyone wants to be in the major leagues; that's why we're all here. But if I'm thinking about that, I'm getting away from what I should be doing to get better.''

For now, Dalbec is watching how the big leaguers do it, part of major league spring training for the first time.

"They're very deliberate with their routines,'' noted Dalbec. "I think that's the biggest thing and that's probably why they can be so consistent. They know their routine and what they have to do to be productive and be ready.''

In the short-term, he aims for more consistency and curtailing the downturns that are part of a young player's trajectory.

"I'll get hot and have hot streaks,'' he said, "but I really want to work on keeping the cold streaks shorter. I think at times they could be a little too out of hand and if I can work on managing that, I think I can produce a lot more.''

Dalbec pitched in college, too, and had a fastball in the mid-90s. But once he signed, he turned his attention to being a position player full-time. There are still times, however, when the arm strength he flashed on the mound can come in handy.

''It definitely translates, especially on off-balance throws with awkward plays, my arm strength can bail me out at times and give me more time (to make the throw),'' he said.

Eventually, something has to give. The Sox have Devers as their third baseman and project that his play -- sloppy at times -- can improve. But he could also move across the diamond to accommodate Dalbec's arrival at third.

There's time to determine that later. For now, the Red Sox are content to watch Dalbec's power displays and see where it takes him and them.