{"id":805,"date":"2020-08-05T15:25:02","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T15:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/?p=805"},"modified":"2020-08-05T18:34:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T18:34:54","slug":"one-player-from-the-nl-who-will-thrive-in-the-60-game-format-that-the-mlb-and-mlbpa-agreed-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/?p=805","title":{"rendered":"One player from the NL who will thrive in the 60-game format that the MLB and MLBPA agreed to"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Keep in mind that this article was written on June 26th, not August 5th.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, we went into 15 players from the 15 American League teams who will thrive under the shortened season. Today, we jump into the National League and name another 15 players who will do well under a weird-formatted season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philadelphia Phillies: J.T. Realmuto, C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his first season with the Phillies, Realmuto was an absolute animal. For example, had some very satisfactory offensive numbers. He had a .275 average, 25 home runs and 83 RBIs last year. Along with that, he\u2019s probably the best defensive catcher in baseball right now. One key component to being a good defensive catcher is pop time. If you don\u2019t know what pop time is, let me paint a picture for you. For instance, say someone chooses to steal 2nd base. The catcher can see that and the second he catches a pitch, he goes from squatting to standing up and tries to throw the runner out. The amount of time it takes him to stand up and try to throw the runner out is called pop time. Realmuto\u2019s pop time is as quick as anybody\u2019s in baseball. In my opinion, he\u2019s the best overall catcher in baseball right now and will definitely thrive under a strange season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Mets: Pete Alonso, 1B <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man, this guy was so fun to watch last year. If you somehow need me to prove that to you, here it is. He had some ridiculous numbers that can seemingly be untouchable last year, but then you realize that he broke the rookie home run record that Aaron Judge had three years ago. This shows how baseball has made a complete 180\u00b0 from the past eras. Anyway, back to the \u201cPolar Bear\u201d. He had a .260 average, 53 home runs and 120 RBIs last year. Along with that, he had a .358 on-base percentage and .583 slugging percentage, making that a .941 OPS (on base + slugging). If he keeps putting up similar numbers, then he will be in the hall of fame for sure. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he\u2019s an underrated fielder and covers a lot of ground over at first base. What else do I need to prove to you? This guy is a beast and there\u2019s no other way to put it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miami Marlins: Brian Anderson, UTIL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be honest with you, he\u2019s one of the only good players that I could find on this team because there are so many flaws in their system. However, Anderson put up some borderline decent numbers. He had a .261 average, 20 home runs and 66 RBI\u2019s last year. He will be probably be one of their only staples in that batting order for a few years until the Marlins get someone decent in a trade or sign someone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Nationals: Juan Soto, LF <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soto is probably one of the best young hitters in baseball right now and he\u2019s coming off of a recent championship last year. He had a .282 average, 34 HR\u2019s, and 110 RBI\u2019s last year. Additionally, he had a .401 OBP (on-base percentage), .548 SLG (slugging percentage), and that\u2019s a total of an .949 OPS. This guy is going to be a great hitter for years to come and will do well this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atlanta Braves: Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr., LF<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acu\u00f1a was so valuable last year. He had 41 HR\u2019s and 37 steals, concluding that he almost had a 40 home run-40 steal season last year. Additionally, he had a .280 average and 101 RBI\u2019s. His potential keeps rising every year and will probably be a top 5 player someday. He\u2019ll be someone to watch as this bizarre season approaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago Cubs: Javier B\u00e1ez, SS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, B\u00e1ez is one of the best defenders in baseball. In the World Baseball Classic (the World Champions of Baseball basically), he slapped a no-look tag and pointed to the catcher while doing it. If that doesn\u2019t show you the amount of swagger that he displays on the field, I don\u2019t know what does. Along with the swagger and the defense, he shows some intriguing offensive numbers. He had a .281 average, 29 HR\u2019s and 85 RBI\u2019s last year. Additionally, \u201cEl Mago (The Magician)\u201d was a World Champion in 2016. He is riding a wave of great seasons and if he keeps riding it, boy what a career he will have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cincinnati Reds: Nick Castellanos, 3B\/OF<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This past free agency, the Reds picked up an underrated star in Nicholas Castellanos, along with other awesome free-agent signings. He had a great offensive year last year, with a .289 average, 27 HR\u2019s and 73 RBI\u2019s. He also has power to all fields. However, he\u2019s not it at defense. He\u2019ll definitely be the Reds DH now that MLB enforced a rule that the DH (designated hitter) has to be in all of the team’s lineups this season. Him and the Reds are going to be scary down the line, so I would keep your eye on them the next couple of seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pittsburgh Pirates: Josh Bell, 1B <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bell had a breakout season last year, but he\u2019s on one of the worst teams in the National League. He was probably one of the very few good players last year., having a .277 average, 37 HR\u2019s and 116 RBI\u2019s. If he and a couple other players can have similar numbers this season, maybe the Pirates can be something but obviously not THE team to watch out for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milwaukee Brewers: Keston Hiura, 2B <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his rookie season with the Brewers, he had a little more than a .300 average. Not many rookie can say that they had a similar season, average-wise. If he can be consistent for multiple seasons, he will be something great in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Louis Cardinals: Paul DeJong, SS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing that probably came into your mind was \u201cpick Paul Goldschmidt\u201d. Nope! Last year, DeJong had a not great .233 average, but had 30 HR\u2019s and 78 RBI\u2019s. Additionally, like B\u00e1ez, he\u2019s one of the best defensive shortstops in the national league. He can be super valuable to the Cardinals or any team that he plays on in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Diego Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr., SS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s anybody that reminds me of a Paul DeJong, is Tatis Jr. In my opinion, he\u2019s better at defense and offense than DeJong. Additionally, he has the swagger factor than someone like B\u00e1ez has. He has bits and pieces of current players\u2019 games and creates his own spin on it. Before he got injured last year, he had a .317 average, 22 HR\u2019s and 53 RBI\u2019s. In a couple years, watch out for Tatis and the Padres. These guys are going to be scary good in a couple years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco Giants: Mike Yastrzemski, OF <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of WAR (wins above replacement), their best player was Jeff Samardzija, and he\u2019s not even that good. The Giants have gone a complete 180\u00b0 turn from their dynastic teams from the early 2010\u2019s. However, the grandson of Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski will thrive during the shortened season. In his rookie season, he had a .272 average, 21 HR\u2019s and 55 RBI\u2019s. Him and the young core that he\u2019s coming up with will be decent in a couple years, in my opinion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colorado Rockies: Trevor Story, SS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, he had some great offensive numbers. He posted a .294 average, 35 HR\u2019s and 85 RBI\u2019s. Along with other players on this list, he is a great defensive shortstop as well. He will be a valuable piece, like Nolan Arenado, for the Rockies in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arizona Diamondbacks: Carson Kelly, C <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had a breakout year last year, posting a .243 average, 18 HR\u2019s (tying the record for HR\u2019s by a catcher in D-Backs history) and 47 RBI\u2019s. If he can keep up his production offensively and defensively, he will be a great catcher in the D-Backs record books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Los Angeles Dodgers: Cody Bellinger, CF <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chandler, Arizona product had a fantastic year last year that led to an MVP award. He had a stat line of .305\/47\/115. Along with the great offense, he has a canon in the outfield and can throw out runners advancing with ease. He will be a Dodger great in the future, maybe a hall of famer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources: baseball-reference.com, mlb.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keep in mind that this article was written on June 26th, not August 5th. Yesterday, we went into 15 players from the 15 American League teams who will thrive under the shortened season. Today, we jump into the National League and name another 15 players who will do well under a weird-formatted season.  Philadelphia Phillies: … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,26,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-news","category-sports","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=805"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":873,"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805\/revisions\/873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.houzzofballerzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}