RADIO
Jorge Soler 2021 Player Outlook: Massive Power Potential at a Discount
4 years agoJorge Soler was a letdown in 2020 for those who were expecting an encore to his breakout 2019 season. He exploded two years ago when he slashed .265/.354/.569 with an AL-best 48 home runs and 117 RBI. His 2020 season was marred by a lingering oblique strain that required two trips to the injured list and forced him to miss 17 games. He finished the year with a .228 batting average and .768 OPS to go along with eight HRs and 24 RBI. We can throw out most of 2020 due to the nagging oblique issue that took away nearly a third of his season. However, we can hang our hats on his Statcast profile, which looked strikingly similar to his banner 2019 season. Soler's Exit Velocity (92.5) and Hard Hit rate (51.1%) were both in the top seven percent of the league for the second consecutive year. His 18.9 % Barrel rate was in the 99th percentile as well after ranking in the top two percent in 2019. Soler's power is real but so was his 34.5 K%. He's also had issues staying healthy throughout his career so that needs to be considered. Despite injury risk and strikeout concerns, Soler should be locked in as the cleanup hitter for the Royals. 40 to 45 home run upside is well worth his current ADP of 146.
