Fantasy Baseball Players That Could Improve Their Power in 2020
Ozzie Albies, Age 23
- 2019 HRs: 24
- GB%: 37.9%
- HR/FB: 12.4%
- Hard%: 42.3%
- Pull%: 45.5%
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Albies is no-doubt one of the most exciting young prospects in the game. 24 home runs in 2019 is nothing to snuff at.
Putting the ball on the ground only 38% of the time means that he already is showcasing the ability to elevate the ball. 12% of the time he put the ball in the air it went for a home run, that’s where Ozzie can improve.
Need a comparison? 2019 AL ROY Yordan Alvarez hit a home run 33% of the time he hit a fly-ball. Hitting the ball just a little bit harder and continuing to pull nearly half of the time, I see Ozzie beating his 2019 home run total easily.
Austin Riley, Age 22
- 2019 HRs: 18
- GB%: 26.2%
- HR/FB: 22%
- Hard%: 42.3%
- Pull%: 36.3%
With only 297 plate appearances last season, Riley hit the ball over the wall 18 times. That’s not bad.
He hits the ball just as hard as Ozzie Albies and puts the ball on the ground a whole lot less. With 22% of his fly-balls going for home runs, there is a lot to like in Riley.
Who else hit the ball this hard as a rookie? Pete Alonso. According to Baseball Savant, Riley is already averaging around a 20-degree launch angle. I think we’ll see a lot of home runs from Riley in 2019.
Adalberto Mondesi, Age 24
- 2019 HRs: 9
- GB%: 46.9%
- HR/FB: 9.3%
- Hard%: 37.8%
- Pull%: 46.1%
Maybe some things should not be changed. The one stat that you do not see here is Mondesi’s 43 stolen bases in 2019! But, I suppose you could say, why steal one base at a time when you can round them all at a nice, easy jog.
Mondesi has the potential to hit more home runs, there’s no doubt about it. But, he needs to put some more lift on the ball, hence an increased launch angle.
Mondesi is the perfect candidate because his metrics all show a need to start upper-cutting. He puts too many balls on the ground and doesn’t hit them hard enough, but he pulls the ball often enough.
Some people are projecting Ronald Acuna to go as high as 40-40 (home runs and stolen bases) and I think with some launch angle tweaks, Mondesi could go 20-40.
Everyone needs a little something to look forward to nowadays. Here’s to looking forward to the return of baseball and seeing more hits fly out of the yard!