Yesterday, my silly colleague Scott Priest dismissed Ryan Kalish. "He's nice and everything," Scott bemoaned. "but he's probably not a building block."
To that I not only say: Pshaw! But you might as well call off your search for the 2013 Red Sox starting right fielder. Because Kalish is putting that job in figure four leg lock and not letting go until its rightfully his.
You may have forgotten all out Ryan Kalish, seeing as he's been on the disabled list for more than a year, recovering from neck and shoulder surgery. But he's back now. With a vengeance!
In 6 games with Pawtucket, Kalish is batting .500 (12-24) with 3 home runs, 8 RBIs, 6 walks and a stolen base.
I can hear your counter-argument now, but I don't care about sample size. One does not spend 14 months away from baseball, recovering from neck and shoulder surgery, and immediately have that type of production. Unless you're Ryan Kalish.
OK, OK. Enough bravado. I have no idea how Kalish is going to be, long-term. I don't know how his shoulder is going to hold up against the rigors of every day baseball. Sliding into second, attempting another diving catch (and the last thing we need is another injury-prone outfielder in the bigs). What I do know is that we have a guy with legit talent. One who is coming back, full steam, from a very serious injury and recovery process. A guy that clearly has the hunger and desire to start where he left off (being awesome).
I don't know how this story ends, but if you haven't been paying attention to what this kid has been doing, now's the time to start.
