(*) BATTERS: Young targets, 2018 updated
Jul 30 2018
Let's continue our look at the most skilled young players in the game by moving on to hitters.
These bats have been the most skilled young hitters:
60+ BPV, Age 28 or Under* Name Age Lg Position bb% ct% Eye PX HctX xPX Spd BPV ================== === == =========== === === ==== === ==== ==== === === Betts, Mookie 25 AL RF 12% 85% 0.96 164 148 161 140 140 Ramirez, Jose 25 AL 3B/2B 14% 87% 1.33 162 134 144 101 139 Trout, Mike 26 AL CF/DH 21% 74% 1.04 176 128 154 110 114 Bregman, Alex 24 AL 3B/SS 13% 86% 1.09 136 131 157 95 109 Machado, Manny 25 NL 3B/SS 11% 85% 0.82 129 116 114 111 100 Soto, Juan 19 NL LF 16% 78% 0.84 151 110 117 105 97 Pederson, Joc 26 NL CF 10% 82% 0.62 148 136 146 96 96 Lindor, Francisco 24 AL SS 10% 82% 0.61 154 135 145 79 96 Arenado, Nolan 27 NL 3B 12% 80% 0.68 154 131 136 92 95 Muncy, Max 27 NL 1B/3B/2B 18% 71% 0.74 187 120 176 72 91 Simmons, Andrelton 28 AL SS 7% 95% 1.56 66 133 76 125 87 Suarez, Eugenio 26 NL 3B 11% 75% 0.52 160 151 170 98 83 Flores, Wilmer 26 NL 3B/1B 8% 90% 0.96 98 122 123 79 82 Rendon, Anthony 28 NL 3B 9% 82% 0.57 132 123 120 85 80 Bogaerts, Xander 25 AL SS 8% 79% 0.43 145 117 102 95 79 Marte, Ketel 24 NL 2B/SS 9% 86% 0.68 90 116 83 149 79 Gregorius, Didi 28 AL SS 8% 85% 0.62 111 115 99 99 78 Benintendi, Andrew 23 AL LF 12% 80% 0.72 122 89 93 109 78 Polanco, Gregory 26 NL RF 12% 73% 0.54 155 102 131 109 77 Albies, Ozzie 21 NL 2B 4% 82% 0.25 130 118 116 118 77 Verdugo, Alex 22 NL LF 9% 86% 0.71 102 141 106 102 76 Baez, Javier 25 NL 2B/SS/3B 4% 74% 0.14 157 107 118 150 74 Profar, Jurickson 25 AL SS/3B 9% 85% 0.65 105 104 86 102 73 Hicks, Aaron 28 AL CF 13% 77% 0.68 127 125 148 106 70 Realmuto, Jacob 27 NL C 5% 79% 0.27 132 123 110 116 70 Franco, Maikel 25 NL 3B 6% 85% 0.47 108 89 95 91 70 Freeman, Freddie 28 NL 1B 12% 79% 0.65 126 132 131 84 69 Aguilar, Jesus 27 NL 1B 11% 70% 0.40 191 116 173 47 69 Hanson, Alen 25 NL 2B/3B/SS/RF 4% 81% 0.24 118 89 78 128 69 Story, Trevor 25 NL SS 8% 72% 0.32 157 127 158 125 69 Shaw, Travis 28 NL 3B 13% 81% 0.79 123 117 121 62 68 Panik, Joe 27 NL 2B 8% 94% 1.38 52 106 65 114 68 Kepler, Max 25 AL RF 11% 82% 0.70 105 121 123 104 67 Andujar, Miguel 23 AL 3B 4% 82% 0.25 123 115 93 99 66 Bauers, Jake 22 AL 1B/LF 13% 72% 0.53 151 121 135 93 66 Rosario, Eddie 26 AL LF 6% 81% 0.35 117 114 130 109 65 Altuve, Jose 28 AL 2B 9% 86% 0.75 77 116 107 121 64 Hoskins, Rhys 25 NL LF/1B 14% 71% 0.56 157 94 143 83 63 Kemp, Tony 26 AL LF 13% 87% 1.24 70 92 59 97 62 Bellinger, Cody 22 NL 1B/LF 11% 72% 0.43 136 104 140 137 62 Myers, Wil 27 NL 1B/LF 7% 70% 0.24 171 142 167 91 60 *min 50 AB
Let's take a closer look at a bunch of highly-skilled young performers.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Jake Bauers (1B/LF, TAM) has looked like a future impact bat in his rookie season. He has shown good patience at the plate (13% bb%), and the strong power he has displayed has the backing of a 135 xPX. In addition, his batting average (.245 BA) isn't a lost cause. His .281 xBA gives it immediate upside. At age 22, Bauers remains one of the game's best investments among young bats.
Alex Bregman (3B/SS, HOU) has emerged as an elite bat in 2018. Only Betts, Ramirez, and Trout have posted better skills among young bats than Bregman: 13% bb%, 86% ct%, 1.09 Eye, 157 xPX, 109 BPV. He's firmly an elite bat against lefties (1.035 OPS, 160 PX vL). But he's also producing at the highest levels of his career against same-sided arms (.876 OPS vR).
Max Kepler (RF, MIN) is another young bat who is on a growth curve. Beneath Kepler's marginal stat line (.228 BA, .733 OPS) are some solid reasons for intrigue. For one, his plate discipline is strong (11% bb%, 82% ct%, 0.70 Eye). And he possesses underlying power skills that are well above average levels (123 xPX). His 90-mph exit velocity is significantly above the norm too.
Jurickson Profar (SS/3B/2B/1B, TEX) has delivered on his post-hype profit potential in 2018. His plate discipline continues to mature (9% bb%, 85% ct%, 0.65 Eye), and his pop has shown flashes of his former top prospect upside. He had a 113 PX and 124 xPX in June. His speed tools have been on display in July (142 Spd, 157 RSpd). And his batting eye has improved in each of the past three months: 0.35, 0.67, 0.88 Eye. He'll carry significant breakout potential heading into 2019.
Eddie Rosario (LF, MIN) has proven that his mini-breakout in 2017 was no fluke. He's on pace for his first $30+ season, and his underlying skills support most of it. His 117 PX is supported by an even better 130 xPX. His rate of hard contact is on a two-year upswing too: 89, 103, 114 HctX. And there's more upside here if he can figure out lefties (.721 OPS vL).
Andrelton Simmons (SS, LAA) seemingly is a veteran at this point in his career, but at age 28, he's entering the peak of his production. And he's doing so with the best plate discipline in the game: 7% bb%, 95% ct%, 1.56 Eye. His ability to consistently put the bat on the ball pairs nicely with his 125 Spd, giving him 20+ SB upside if he can get more opportunities to run.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wilmer Flores (3B/1B, NYM) is another bat with a lot of MLB experience at a young age. The 26-year-old hasn't done a whole lot on the surface in 2018 (.271 BA, .781 OPS in 240 AB), but the growth in his plate discipline has been substantial: 8% bb%, 90% ct%, 0.96 Eye. He's hitting righties with authority now (.843 OPS vR).
Alen Hanson (2B/3B/SS/RF, SF) has cooled off after the immediate impact he made following his recall from Triple-A. That said, Hanson still owns an interesting combination of good contact skills (85% ct% in July) and impactful wheels (128 Spd). Pitchers have adjusted to him after his quick start, so he'll need to adjust his approach to have a strong second half.
Rhys Hoskins (LF/1B, PHI) has been on fire since the start of June. He put up a 1.088 OPS in June and has followed that up with a strong finish to July (.908 OPS). His expected batting average has jumped nearly 40 points from the first half to the second half, and he has put up an elite 150+ xPX in three separate months. At age 25, Hoskins will carry some legitimate 40-HR upside heading into 2019.
Ketel Marte (2B/SS, ARI) is another pre-peak bat who entered the 2018 season with breakout potential. He got off to a slow start (.240 BA, .703 OPS in 1H) but has really come on in the second half. Few bats have been more skilled since July 1 than Marte. His 101 BPV has helped to produce a .280 BA and .893 OPS. His plate discipline has been firmly elite in the second half too: 16% bb%, 85% ct%, 1.27 Eye. At age 24, Marte still has time to develop into an impact middle-infielder.
Joc Pederson (CF, LA) has enjoyed a big bounceback season so far in 2018. He owns an .878 OPS in 259 AB, and only Machado and Soto have posted better skills among NL bats than Pederson (96 BPV). In fact, Pederson's skills feature both good plate control (10% bb%, 82% ct%, 0.62 Eye) and plenty of pop (148 PX, 136 HctX, 146 xPX).
Gregory Polanco (RF, PIT) is another young NL bat entering his peak production years. He is on track to put up the first .800+ OPS of his career (.844 OPS). He is drawing more walks than ever too (12% bb%). And he's hitting more flyballs than ever (34/16/50 G/L/F), helping to give him even more underlying power than he is showing (135 xPX).
Eugenio Suárez (3B, CIN) was drafted as a fringe frontline 3B in many leagues (187 ADP). He has given his owners a big profit so far in 2018. He has a .301 BA and .968 OPS in 332 AB. And that jump in production has been no fluke. He owns an elite 151 HctX and 170 xPX combo, and he hasn't sold out his plate approach to reach those levels (11% bb%, 76% ct%, 0.53 Eye).
Juan Soto (LF, WAS) has exceeded his hype to this point in 2018, becoming one of the best young bats in the game at age 19. Soto's .995 OPS has come with the backing of an upper-tier 95 BPV. His plate skills have been sturdy too: 16% bb%, 78% ct%, 0.84 Eye. He has been particularly lethal against same-sided pitchers (1.157 OPS, 170 PX vL).
More From Batters
In our last installment this season, a look at the lineup spots for James Wood, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Junior Caminero.
Sep 6 2024 3:03am
Sep 6 2024 3:03am
Jackson Merrill's huge multi-category contributions in August came with strong underlying support.
Sep 2 2024 3:07am
Sep 2 2024 3:07am
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has seemed destined for greatness from the time he was a teenager, but he has had an up-and-down journey in the Major Leagues. We dig into how he has bounced back in 2024.
Aug 27 2024 3:08am
Aug 27 2024 3:08am
The exciting early returns from James Wood would accelerate quickly if he could figure out a way to loft the ball against lefties.
Aug 26 2024 3:06am
Aug 26 2024 3:06am
This week we focus on three hitters who moved into new lineup spots in the second half, fueling improved production.
Aug 23 2024 3:03am
Aug 23 2024 3:03am
