X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Franmil Reyes - Petco Power Hitter?

San Diego Padres outfielder Franmil Reyes showed impressive power in his rookie season but has an unfavorable home stadium in Petco Park. Nate Green evaluates Reyes' home-road splits and uses Statcast to determine whether he is a fantasy baseball draft sleeper in 2019.

Franmil Reyes hit 16 home runs in 87 games in his rookie campaign, a 30-HR pace. Historically, hitting home runs at Petco Park has been quite difficult. Since moving to the stadium in 2004, the Padres only have had six 30-HR hitters, ranking 26th in baseball in that time, and four of those were Adrian Gonzalez. Additionally, at both the team and individual level, both the Padres and their opponents have homered far more often when San Diego is not the venue.

This is all a long way of asking, what will Petco mean for Reyes and his homer totals in 2019 if he puts in a full season of at-bats?

Let's evaluate Reyes, his prodigious power, and the effect his home stadium might have this coming season.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

The Petco Effect

The first thing we should note when asking this question is Franmil’s home-road splits in 2018. He hit eight home runs at Petco and another eight on the road. His 137 PA at home were 11 fewer than he had on the road, so the evenness in HR was not the result of a disparity in PA.

That was easy, wasn’t it? Reyes has the power to overcome Petco Park; article over! Except the conclusion isn’t necessarily accurate and it would be malpractice to stop now.

Looking at the home-road splits of those six Padres with 30 home runs since 2004 shows us this:

Year Player Total Home HR/PA Away HR/PA
2007 Adrian Gonzalez 30 10/340 20/380
2008 Adrian Gonzalez 36 14/341 22/359
2009 Adrian Gonzalez 40 12/335 28/346
2010 Adrian Gonzalez 31 11/335 20/358
2012 Chase Headley 31 13/345 18/354
2017 Wil Myers 30 8/307 22/342

 

Padres Opponents
Home 971/43982 1092/46956
Away 1187/42328 1329/45623

That is not-great historical evidence for San Diego home run hitters. But the results fit with the park’s longtime reputation as a pitcher’s park. That Reyes bucked the trend might be good news, but the sample is awfully small, only 285 PA and 16 homers. There is more to be examined.

 

A Change in 2018

In 2018, Petco played somewhat smaller than usual, with a one-year park factor of 98 for hitters, compared to a multi-year park factor of 94 by the Baseball Reference statistics. According to ESPN.com, Petco was the 16th-best park for home runs in 2018—just above Fenway and its occasional Green Monster cheapo—after rating 29th in 2017. If that becomes a trend, it is also good news for Franmil Reyes, and indeed all Padres hitters. But given there have been no structural changes to Petco since 2013, it’s dangerous to assume a trend towards the average will reveal itself in the coming years. That said, power hitting at Petco had nowhere to go but up entering 2018. (Or almost nowhere—at least 29th isn’t 30th!)

Another thing that might help Reyes is that his home runs are impressive. Of the 230 players who hit at least 10 home runs in 2018, Reyes was tied with Khris Davis and Ronald Acuña at a 105.9 mph exit velocity on his bombs, ranking 30th. Those homers traveled an average of 404 feet, 45th-best in baseball.  It’s no doubt good to see Reyes in the 80+ percentiles in those metrics. Because home runs are already the best-hit baseballs on average, to be hitting among the most impressive home runs probably means you can lose a couple mph and still hit balls out of the park.  If a ball is hit far enough and hard enough, no park will contain it.

Surprisingly, however, some of Reyes’ least impressive home runs in 2018 also came at Petco. His two slowest-hit homers of the year, at 92.0 and 96.6 mph, came at home. So, you can get out of Petco without hitting a ball 110. You could probably have guessed that, but it’s still good news.

 

Other Criteria

That said, when looking at how many home runs a park might cost, some things hold more interest than the baseballs that did escape at home. Those things are road homers and flyouts. Unfortunately, we start to talk about really small samples at this point.

On the road, Reyes seems to have gotten his biggest boost from Miller Park, where he homered twice in August. Neither went 400 feet. Unfortunately, Statcast appears to have put the Hit Tracker Online out of commission, which is the only place I know of where you could overlay one stadium’s layout atop another’s. But neither flight path appears as if it would have been sufficient to escape Petco’s confines (links here off of Jacob Barnes, and here off of Chase Anderson). Miller is 374 feet in right-center and 345 to right while Petco is 391 to right-center and 322 in right. Certainly, Reyes’ homer off of Anderson into right-center would have stayed in Petco; it’s less clear on the homer off Barnes since it’s not quite right down the line.

As for outs, two of Reyes’ three barreled outs in 2018 came at home, including a Kyle Freeland pitch he hit 387 feet at 105.8 mph while lining out to Charlie Blackmon in center field. Some players, like Nick Castellanos, have hit into way worse luck than three barreled outs, but that’s the subject of an article in progress.

If you’re interested, here’s a link to every Petco homer Reyes hit in 2018, and here’s every road homer.

So yes, on the whole, it does appear that Petco Park continues to limit power production relative to some other facilities, and Franmil Reyes should be no exception.

 

Bottom Line

Like most modestly successful rookies, Franmil Reyes requires a bit of wait-and-see. His overall Statcast performance in 2018 was no joke, at least. He rated 45th out of 332 players with 150 batted ball events with a barreled ball in 7.4% of plate appearances (including strikeouts; his 11.6 percentage excluding K’s rated 39th). He hit 85 baseballs at 95 mph or better, a 47.0% ranking 25th between Justin Upton and Acuña. Once again, this is good news for trying launch balls out of San Diego’s state-of-the-art ballpark.

However, these numbers don’t particularly mesh with his xwOBA of .330, 30 points lower than his actual rookie mark of .360. His .280/.340/.498 triple slash also exceeded his expected batting average by 28 points and expected slugging by 49 points. Looking at those numbers might leave you expecting regression.

So, Petco Park: what does it mean for Franmil? You always want the players you’re rostering for home runs to play half their games in a stadium suitable for that purpose. However, if you’re at a point in the draft where you think Player A is the best option, you won’t pick Player B just because you wish Player A’s situation were even better. Where that point is for Reyes depends some on league structure, your rate stat(s) of choice and things of that nature.

Last year, Franmil Reyes proved that he has the capacity to hit big bombs off of Major League pitching. That’s not enough to go reaching, especially in standard batting average leagues, but he is certainly intriguing, wherever he calls home.

More 2019 Fantasy Baseball Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Travis Etienne Jr.

Needs to Bounce Back in 2025
Wan'Dale Robinson

Wants More Downfield Opportunities this Season
Quinshon Judkins

Arrested on Saturday for Battery and Domestic Violence
Terry McLaurin

Could be a Holdout at Training Camp
Roger McCreary

a Candidate for a Contract Extension?
Max Fried

Exits Start With Blister
Mike Evans

Buccaneers Could Have Difficult Time Retaining Mike Evans
Charles Cross

Could Sign Extension Before Training Camp
Xavier Restrepo

One to Watch Going into Training Camp
Calvin Ridley

Appears Re-Energized
Mark Andrews

Still a Key Piece in Ravens Offense
Ndamukong Suh

Officially Announces his Retirement
Jaylen Waddle

Motivated After Disappointing Season
Tre Harris

Still Unsigned
Hunter Dobbins

to Miss Rest of Season With Torn ACL
Nolan Arenado

Held Out of Lineup on Saturday
Alexandre Sarr

Plays Well in Summer League Loss to Phoenix
Yang Hansen

Looks Good on Friday Night
Carlos Correa

Sitting on Saturday
Austin Riley

Placed on 10-Day Injured List
Nolan Arenado

Exits Friday's Contest With Sprained Finger
Jake Burger

Expects to Play on Saturday
Erik Karlsson

Open to Move Away From Pittsburgh
Zach Hyman

Hopes to be Ready for Start of Next Season
SJ

Jeff Skinner Joins Sharks on One-Year Contract
Wyatt Langford

Records Four-Hit Night
Cal Raleigh

Homers Twice, Drives in Five
Cody Bellinger

Swats Three Homers in Victory
Jake Burger

Leaves With Quad Discomfort on Friday
Carlos Correa

Exits Game With Mild Ankle Sprain
Edward Cabrera

Dealing with Posterior Elbow Discomfort
Austin Riley

Leaves Game Early on Friday With Abdominal Tightness
Kon Knueppel

Struggles in Summer League Win
Rafael Devers

Dealing With Back Inflammation
Walter Clayton Jr.

Plays Well on Friday Night
Cody Williams

Scores 21 Points in Summer League Loss
Kyle Filipowski

Leads the Way on Friday Night
Teoscar Hernández

Teoscar Hernandez Returning on Friday
Sauce Gardner

Wants to be Highest-Paid Cornerback
Rhamondre Stevenson

Heading into an Important Season
Minnesota Vikings

Josh Metellus, Vikings Have Mutual Interest in Extension
Tua Tagovailoa

2025 Could be Tua Tagovailoa's Last Season in Miami
Rashawn Slater

has "Full Confidence" a Deal Will Get Done
Byron Buxton

Returns on Friday
Isaiah Jackson

Signs Three-Year Extension
Jake Meyers

Placed on 10-Day Injured List With Calf Strain
Brandon Lowe

Placed on 10-Day Injured List With Oblique Tightness
Kodai Senga

Reinstated to Start on Friday
Alex Bregman

Officially Activated and Starting on Friday
Marvin Bagley III

Joining the Wizards
Herbert Jones

Signing Extension with Pelicans
Jacob Toppin

Returning to Hawks
Chicago Bears

Bears Extend General Manager Ryan Poles
Dalton Knecht

Avoids Serious Injury
MarShawn Lloyd

in a "Much Better Spot" Heading Into Training Camp
Javon Small

Signs Two-Way Deal
Dustin Hopkins

Browns Still Counting on Dustin Hopkins
Ryan Reaves

Traded to Sharks
Vladislav Kolyachonok

Moves to Dallas
Matt Dumba

Lands in Pittsburgh
Mackie Samoskevich

Re-Signs with Panthers on One-Year Deal
Josh Manson

Inks Two-Year Extension with Avalanche
EDM

Isaac Howard Signs Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract With Oilers
Tallison Teixeira

Set For His First UFC Main Event
Derrick Lewis

Set To Headline UFC Nashville
Gabriel Bonfim

Looks For His Third UFC Win
Stephen Thompson

Returns At UFC Nashville
Steve Garcia

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Calvin Kattar

In Dire Need Of Victory
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere A Favorite At UFC Nashville
Nate Landwehr

Aims To Bounce Back
MMA

Austen Lane Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Vitor Petrino

Set For His Heavyweight Debut
Tuco Tokkos

Set To Open Up UFC Nashville Main Card
Junior Tafa

Set For Light-Heavyweight Bout
Jalen Williams

Signs Contract Extension With Thunder
Alijah Martin

Agrees to Two-Way Deal With Raptors
Tristan Vukcevic

Set to Return to Washington
Anfernee Simons

Celtics Are "Actively Trying to Trade" Anfernee Simons
NBA

Alex Ducas Heading to Australia
Dominick Barlow

Inks Two-Way Deal With 76ers
Jordan McLaughlin

Spurs Re-Sign Jordan McLaughlin to One-Year Deal
Dylan Harper

Out Thursday, Expected to Play Saturday
VJ Edgecombe

Diagnosed with a Sprained Thumb
Gary Woodland

Looking to Find Rhythm at Scottish Open
Aaron Rai

Brings Consistent Play to Scottish Open
Maverick McNealy

a Solid Value Play at Scottish Open
Aldrich Potgieter

Making Scottish Open Debut
Tom Kim

Looks to Rebound at Scottish Open
Brian Harman

a Safe Option at Scottish Open
Luke Clanton

a Sneaky Value Play at Scottish Open
Sam Burns

Looking to Stay Hot at Scottish Open
Nicolai Hojgaard

May Feel More at Home in Europe
Harry Hall

Showing Fine Form Heading to Scotland
Ryan Fox

Playing Well Since Early Spring Struggles
Max Greyserman

has Solid History at the Genesis Scottish Open
Harris English

Aims High for Scotland Next
Corey Conners

Primed for the Genesis Scottish Open
Daniel Brown

Attempts the Scottish Swing Again
Jacob Bridgeman

Needs Putter to Work at Genesis Scottish Open
Scottie Scheffler

Headlines Field at Genesis Scottish Open
Rory McIlroy

a Smart Play for Scottish Open
Adam Scott

Looking to Build on History at The Renaissance Club
NASCAR

Sepp Straka Not Likely to Find Momentum at Scottish Open
Justin Rose

Hopes Month Hiatus Helps Him Bounce Back at Scottish Open
NHL

Tyler Johnson Retires After 13 NHL Seasons
Jack McBain

Inks New Five-Year Deal with Mammoth
Cam York

Re-Signs with Flyers for Five Years
Jake Knapp

Fits the Mold for Success at The Renaissance Club
Ty Gibbs

Finishes Second at Chicago and Advances in In-Season Challenge
Alex Bowman

Defeats Bubba Wallace in In-Season Challenge, but Not Without Controversy
Alex Bowman

Bubba Wallace Wrecked by Alex Bowman Again, Putting Playoffs in Doubt
Michael McDowell

Throttle Failure Ends Michael McDowell's Chances to Win at Chicago
Austin Hill

Earns First NASCAR Cup Series Top Ten at Chicago
Tyler Reddick

Scores a Strong Third-Place Run at Chicago
Kyle Busch

Matches his Best Career Finish At Chicago on Sunday
Denny Hamlin

Fights his Way to a Top-5 Finish at Chicago
William Byron

has his Worst Weekend of the Season at Chicago
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF