SIX MLB players who could hit .400 in 2020
By Bill Felber
SIX MLB players who could hit .400 in 2020
Bryan Reynolds
Bryan Reynolds is the 25-year-old Pirate outfielder who made a big splash as a rookie in 2019. He finished the season at .314 after sitting as high as .355 on June 30, 60 games into his personal season and 82 games into Pittsburgh’s season. He was still at .342 at last year’s All-Star break.
The potential for a learning curve is one reason to like Reynolds’ chances. After all, he was a rookie in 2019. Several of his secondary numbers, notably his sprint speed (76th percentile) and hard-hit percentage (67th percentile) are also encouraging.
His biggest drawback may be a so-so 28 percent chase rate. While that’s not bad by current major league standards, it’s not good either. It’s worth keeping in mind that when one assesses the prospect of batting .400, a very good indicator is the ability to not make outs by swinging at pitches that are off the plate.
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Ted Williams’ first rule of hitting very much applies in this endeavor: Get a good pitch to hit.
The Central region ballparks are a virtual non-factor in Reynolds’ quest. The park factors average 100.5, ranging from a low of 97 in his home field, PNC Park, to a high of 107 at Comerica in Detroit. But Comerica is the only Central region park with a 2019 factor above 102, so the facilities are – from a hitting standpoint – essentially interchangeable.