March 21, 2021

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain spent less than a week in his customary spot as the leadoff man before his 2020 season was over. The 34-year-old opted out after 21 plate appearances, putting an abrupt halt to his campaign. Although many of the small samples from the 60-game season could be misleading, it would have been telling to see if Cain's decline in 2019 would have continued. After finishing among the league leaders in 2018 with a .305 average, .395 on-base percent, and 30 steals, those figures dropped to .260 AVG, .325 OBP, and 16 SB over a larger number of at-bast in 2019. It should be reassuring that his .292 xBA in '19 was actually a tick higher than the previous year's .289 xBA, so some bad luck may have been at play. Cain is a year older and has several months of rust to knock off his veteran frame but the biggest concern should be him physically slowing down. Cain's sprint speed ranking has declined for three straight years, so even if he maintains his traditionally high average and on-base skills, he may be less effective on the basepaths. The Brewers also signed Jackie Bradley Jr. back on March 8, which has created a logjam in the Milwaukee outfield. Cain has been hampered by a nagging quad injury all spring, only recently making his debut. Due to the slow start, Cain could find himself on the shorter end of a timeshare with JBJ. As a player who doesn't bring much power to the table, with 10 HR being his likely ceiling at this point, a lower steal total lessens his roto value. Cain is widely available outside the top 250 picks and doesn't need to be considered any earlier as a safe, but relatively unexciting reserve outfield option.--Pierre Camus