FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Sure, it was against a college team, but Red Sox third base prospect Bobby Dalbec made his presence felt on Friday.
Dalbec, Boston’s clean-up hitter vs Northeastern, stepped up to the plate in the second inning and blasted a mammoth home run to dead center field. The 23-year-old has a reputation as one of the organization’s best power-hitting prospects, so for him to drill the first homer of the spring was fitting.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked after the 6-0 win if he was impressed by Dalbec -- a pitcher while playing for the University of Arizona -- even though the homer came off a college ballclub.
“Yeah,” Cora said. “When he came into the dugout I said hey I was wrong, I thought you were gonna be a pitcher.”
“You can see it, you know. Like he has a pretty good idea what he wants to do at the plate. The strikeouts, they happen but certain situations he’ll put the ball in play which is what we like.”
Dalbec had 32 home runs in 2018 between his stints with Single-A Salem and Double-A Portland. While it’s fairly unlikely he plays at the big-league level this season, look for the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder to make an impact at Triple-A Pawtucket.
Boston Red Sox
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