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Mitch Haniger 2023 Player Outlook: Home Run Numbers Won't Be Enough To Overcome Shortcomings In Other Categories
San Francisco Giants outfielder Mitch Haniger's 2022 season was shortened by an ankle sprain, but when he was on the field, he produced. He hit .246 with 31 runs and 34 RBI while homering 11 times across 57 games. Haniger's always shown immense power with a career 10.3% barrel rate while posting an 11.8% rate this year without hitting the ball on the ground much (37.3% ground ball rate). However, a strikeout rate that's sat at 25.8% over the past three seasons has limited the 32-year-old's batting average, and many balls in the air (career 27.2% and 7.6% fly ball and pop-up rate, respectively) means we could see his .293 BABIP from '22 regress. Haniger will almost be a non-factor in stolen bases, as he's provided just 18 over his 564 career games, so fantasy managers need him to supply about 30 HRs with more than 70 runs and RBI. However, moving from T-Mobile Park to Oracle Park will likely deflate his long balls, and the lineup in San Francisco might not be strong enough around him. It's also hard to be confident that Haniger will stay healthy next year, as he's played more than 96 games just twice from 2016-2022. He's capable of performing well enough to justify his 173 ADP. However, chances are he won't live up to it.
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