January 16, 2020

After a 2018 season in which he was mostly hurt, Josh Donaldson took a one-year contract into 2019. It paid off—figuratively and literally—with a strong 2019 and Minnesota giving him four years and $92 million this January. The move should also pay off for fantasy owners, as Donaldson finds himself in a strong lineup, certainly no weaker than the one he had in Atlanta in 2019. Age may be the main mitigating factor in projecting Donaldson now, but 2019 was his best of the Statcast era in several statistics, including his barrel rate (15.7%), exit velocity (92.9 mph), and hard-hit rate (50.0%). All of those ranked in the top 4% of MLB. His contact also suggested more of a .269 hitter than the .259 he produced. One area where Donaldson did not improve from 2018 to ’19 was swinging and missing, going from 12.8% to 12.5% of pitches seen, which were the two highest marks since his rookie season back in 2010. That will be something to watch, but the overall profile still suggests someone who crushes the ball when he does make contact. Donaldson should hit another 35-40 home runs and the Twins lineup may allow him to post 100 each of runs and RBI (for just the third and second time, respectively). He won’t steal bases and the swing-and-miss leaves some concern about his batting average, but he should be drafted in the top 100 despite a slightly lower ADP of 108.--Nathaniel Green