So Miguel Sano has had quite the season so far, hasn't he? We all knew the power was legit, we've known that since he first showed up in the majors, but the average has been a huge surprise for Sano owners. He continued that on Monday night, going 4-6, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI as the Twins pounced the Orioles. So the question is, is Sano legit? Well, he is to an extent. Sano made a change this season in where he places his hands on the bat, and it seems to have helped him. Now, he's not a .300 hitter, he strikes out far too much for that, and his .479 BABIP is absolutely absurd, so there will be a regression, but I think Sano is a better hitter than he was last year. He's not a .236 hitter anymore, I think he's closer to a .250 hitter with great power. I'm thinking he easily gets 30 home runs and has a shot at getting close to 40 while batting around .250 the rest of the way. Now, if someone wants to give you the world for him and thinks the average is legit, sell high, but aside from that, enjoy the production.
Let's take a look at some of the other performances from Monday:
I dropped Zobrist for Devon Travis. You like Zobrist better ROS? I tried to hold as long as I could but it looked like he was losing playing time and I always thought he was a better real-life player than in fantasy.
Actually I see Travis and Zobrist as just about equals ROS, so I don’t mind that move at all.
Although Sanos BABIP is obviously unsustainable, their is something to be said to say that he should probably produce above league average babip due to just how hard he hits the ball right? Batting about .250-.260 the rest of the way gives him still a very nice batting average for the season and maybe something be can capitalize on next year if he can reduce his abysmal strike out total.
Home run hitters like him would actually typically have low BABIPs simply because he doesn’t keep the ball in play all that much (home runs don’t count). So if he hits a ball hard, it’s either a home run or a fly ball out (and occasionally a gap hit, but those are unpredictable).
The guys who usually have high BABIPs are your fast contact guys, guys who can beat out groundball hits or guys who hit a lot of Texas league singles.
Sano, I would imagine, will have a BABIP right around league average or so, and I’m expecting him to hit .250-.260 the rest of the way, which like you said, is still very nice.
Zobrist has been a monster since he moved to the top of the lineup. Great call on not dropping him. What a mistake that would be.
Unless your league uses walks or some derivative stat, Zobrist doesn’t offer a lot of anything else. He has never hit .300 and he has eclipsed 20 HR once. He is a zero in steals. He accumulates WAR, but that likely isn’t going to help your fantasy squad. He is a much better real-life player than fantasy player. I like his as a bench fill-in, but certainly not the type of player that you regret dropping. He could end up being the odd-man out if Happ and Baez continue to hit.