4 years agoMinnesota Twins middle infielder Jorge Polanco burst onto the scene in 2019 when he swatted 22 home runs with a .295/.356/.485 slash line. His truncated 2020 season paled in comparison, though. Polanco underwent offseason surgery to remove a bone spur and chip from his ankle. Twins president Derek Falvey noted that the shortstop played hurt for "a large portion of the 2020 season." His subpar .258/.304/.354 line with just four home runs and 19 RBI over 55 games would corroborate that fact. His barrel rate had improved every year from 2016 (2.5%) to 2019 (6.7%) before plummeting to 2.8% last season. The same can be said for his launch angle, which fell from a career-high 18.9 degrees in 2019 to 16.1 in 2020. On the positive side, Polanco's hard-hit rate (33.3%) stayed about the same between 2019 and 2020, and he's still a .278 career hitter with a zone-contact rate of 90.2% over seven MLB seasons. The addition of Andrelton Simmons should shift Polanco over to second base, which would grant him dual-eligibility in fantasy leagues once he qualifies. Polanco got a chance to get back on track in 2021 but he is hard to trust as a fantasy starter given his recent injury history -- he's now had right ankle surgery in consecutive offseasons. While 2019 could serve as the high-water mark for his career in terms of power, he's a solid contact hitter that gives you a piece of the potent Twins lineup. If his ankle rehab goes well and he enters spring training with a clean bill of health then he's a low-risk (current ADP of 206) middle-infield option with reasonable upside.--Jon Mathisen - RotoBaller