Cody Bellinger 2024 Player Outlook: 2023 MVP Candidate Staying Put With Team He Revived Career With
2 months agoChicago Cubs outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger appeared to be falling off a cliff after the Los Angeles Dodgers didn't even extend a qualifying offer to him in 2023's offseason. Following his 2019 NL MVP campaign, Bellinger's bat took a turn for the worse as he dropped off into more of a defensive specialist, barely cracking the Mendoza line on a ghastly .203/.272/.376 triple-slash line over 1,143 plate appearances encompassing 295 games from 2020 to 2022. But Bellinger looked entirely rejuvenated after landing a one-year prove-it deal with the Chicago Cubs in 2023, playing at a high level in the first quarter of play before fully recapturing his MVP form. In 78 outings over 303 at-bats from July 4 onward, Bellinger settled in as Chicago's everyday cleanup hitter and slashed a sensational .327/.372/.571 with 19 home runs, 17 doubles, 73 RBI, and 10 stolen bases shortly after coming off the injured list with a left knee contusion. The 28-year-old southpaw also acted as one of the top situational hitters in baseball, putting up an MLB-high 12 sacrifice flies. Bellinger's free agency surprisingly extended into spring training, but his MVP-caliber season netted him a three-year, $80 million contract on Feb. 25 to stick around in the Windy City. Though his Silver Slugger campaign and strong defense instills confidence that Bellinger is back among the majors' marquee names, his inflated 2024 draft cost doesn't come without red flags. After striking out as much as anyone in the prior two years, Bellinger shored up on the lack of discipline for a strong 15.6% strikeout rate but didn't hit the ball hard with regularity (31.4%). On top of that, Belli registered one of Statcast's largest discrepancies in batting average (.307) and expected BA (.268), slugging (.525) and xSLG (.434), plus weighted on-base average (.370) and xwOBA (.327). Shaping up as fantasy's batter version of Blake Snell, Bellinger carries plenty of risk as a top-50 fantasy pick with a top-10 ceiling that aids in all five categories and a floor where he hurts the BA area.