As Fantasy players, this is the time of year when our brain is overloaded with information from too many sources. ADP (average draft position) for snake drafts, dollar value projections for auction drafts, inflation calculation for keeper leagues, prospect rankings and every imaginable stat for each player who might be on a major league roster as of March 26th, 2020. So, how can you possibly get an edge in today’s Internet age where someone can go from neophyte to expert in the course of web-browsing weekend? One answer might be to look below the surface and find stats that others ignore.
On this visit, once again with the help of the 2020 Bill James Handbook, we’ll look at league leader batting categories from last season in hopes of finding an occasional clue about future performance.
American League
> Carlos Santana (.397, age 33) and Nelson Cruz (.392, age 38) were in the top four in On-Base Percentage.
> Jorge Soler (.569) and Austin Meadows (.558) were in the top six in Slugging Average.
> Matt Chapman & Matt Olson each hit 36 HR’s…and they each won a Gold Glove.
> Two Royals played 162 Games…Soler & Whit Merrifield.
> Red Sox regulars Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers & Xander Bogaerts averaged 702 plate appearances.
> Jonathan Villar was in the top ten in Games, Hits and Runs Scored but was waived by the Orioles.
> Marcus Semien had more total bases (343) than Alex Bregman or Mookie Betts.
> D.J. LeMahieu hit .667 with the bases loaded.
> Tim Anderson won the batting title with an average of .335…he was also the best hitter in “Close & Late” situations with .385.
> In the “young & clutch” category, Yordan Alvarez and Gleyber Torres were in the top six in BA w/RISP.
> In 2018, three players had over 200 Strikeouts, in 2019 no one exceeded 178. Yoan Moncada went from 217 to 154.
> George Springer had the highest OBP (.385) from the lead-off spot.
> J.D. Martinez led the league with a .404 BA against LH Pitchers.
> Hanser Alberto batted .345 on the Road.
> Tommy Pham had the highest SB Success with 86.2%
> Rougned Odor had the lowest SB success percentage at 55%…he was also the worst in 2018.
> Daniel Vogelbach saw the most pitches per plate appearance…4.54.
> Mitch Garver compiled the best OPS (1.032) for a Catcher…Yuri Gurriel had the best (.900) for First Basemen.
> Mallex Smith had the lowest RBI Pct. (22.74%)
> Michael Chavis tied Mike Trout for the league’s longest HR average (419 feet).
> Nomar Mazara had the two longest HR’s at 505 & 482 feet.
National League
> Only two players had better than a .410 OBP… Christian Yelich at .429 and Anthony Rendon at .412
> Cody Bellinger had the 2nd best Slugging Average (.629)…Yelich was 1st (.671).
> Starlin Castro was the only player to appear in all 162 games.
> Ozzie Albies led the league in Hits (189).
> Corey Seager tied Rendon for most Doubles with 44.
> Eduardo Escobar’s 10 Triples were the league’s best.
> Freddie Freeman (121) had more RBI than Nolan Arenado (118).
> Rhys Hoskins led the league in Walks with 116. His teammate Bryce Harper dropped from 130 in ’18 to 99 in ’19.
> Eugenio Suarez led the league in Strikeouts with 189.
> Wilson Ramos had the highest BA (.611) with the bases loaded.
> Tommy Edman hit .397 in “Close & Late” situations.
> Charlie Blackmon was the best (.385) at hitting with RISP.
> Kevin Newman had the highest BA on the Road….350.
> Six players had at least an 81% Stolen Base success rate…and one of them was Jon Berti.
> Amed Rosario had the lowest SB success rate with 65.5%.
> Manny Machado hit into 24 Double Plays…the most in the league.
> Antony Rizzo was hit by 27 pitches.
> Hoskins and Ronald Acuna Jr. were the only players to “see” over 3,000 pitches.
> Greg Garcia had the highest percentage of Pitches Taken with 65.8%.
> Javier Baez had the best OPS vs. Curveballs with 1.132.
> Brandon Nimmo had the best OPS vs. Sliders with 1.209.
> Willson Contreras was the only Catcher with an OPS over .900 (.901).
> Keston Huira had the best OPS (.936) among 2B.
> Ketel Marte led all CF’s in OPS with 1.095.
> Lorenzo Cain had the lowest RBI Pct. (24.84%).
> Pete Alonso led the league in HR’s at Home (27) and HR’s Away (26).
To the untrained eye, this may all seem like a plethora of useless information, but you Rotisserie Ducklings have picked up a tidbit or two that you’ll remember at the Draft…you can thank me later.
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