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Josh Bell 2020 Outlook: Breakout Has Tools To Build On 2019
Pirates first baseman Josh Bell is coming off a breakout campaign with 37 homers, 94 runs scored and 116 RBI over 143 games. He’d always shown stellar bat control, but he finally channeled a power profile. His groundball rate went from 49% in ‘18 to 44% in ‘19, alongside a near 10-percentage-point boost to his pull rate. His average 411-foot homer distance was tied for 25th out of 281 batters with at least 200 batted-ball events, with an 8.6% Barrels-per-Plate-Appearance rate and 96.1 MPH average exit velocity on flies and liners that also ranked within the top-30. He earned his results. A late groin injury held him to just 11 games in September, meaning we haven’t witnessed his full-season ceiling yet. The 27-year-old also has room to improve against southpaws, as only mustered a .224/.313/.448 slash against lefties in ‘19 compared to a .297/.387/.615 line versus righties. PIT likely won’t press him into suboptimal at-bats, so plan accordingly. Bell requires additional management, yet offers immense power as a top-10 first baseman per our staff rankings. We peg him as worthy around pick 100, though his early NFBC ADP of 90 means you're likely to pay full price.
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