January 30, 2021

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius rebounded nicely in 2020 after a rough 2019 campaign in which he returned from Tommy John surgery. In 2020, his first season with the Phillies, Gregorius posted a .284/.339/.488 slash line to go with 10 home runs and 40 RBI in 237 plate appearances. Extrapolated over the course of a full season, Gregorius' 2020 campaign amounted to a 20 HR, 80 RBI performance. Examining his 2020 metrics, his average overall exit velocity of 83.8 mph (in the bottom 2% of all of MLB) was a sharp decline from his overall EV posted in 2019. In addition, Gregorius was near the bottom of the league in overall hard contact rate (bottom 8%) and overall barrel rate (bottom 19%) in 2020. While these MLB Statcast percentages are frightening, they are nothing new for Gregorius. Despite underwhelming power metrics throughout his career, Gregorius has consistently been successful. This is best exemplified by his 2017 and 2018 campaigns in New York, where he had similar poor power metrics (including an overall EV of 84.5 mph in 2017) but still drove in over 80 RBI and crushed 25 and 27 HR, respectively. Gregorius' strength has been in his elite strikeout rate (which was in the top-7% of MLB in 2020) and contact rates that have exceeded league averages. Looking ahead to 2021, nothing would suggest the upcoming campaign for Gregorius will be any different, especially with his return to a potent Phillies lineup and Citizens Bank Park. If healthy, managers can pencil in Gregorius for another .270-.280 campaign with 20 HR and 80-90 RBI. At his ADP of 167, Gregorius can serve as a capable starting shortstop in deep leagues or a decent backup/starting middle infielder in more shallow formats.--Nick Ritrivi - RotoBaller