RADIO
Matt Chapman 2019 Outlook: Platinum Glove, Power Bat
6 years agoOakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman demonstrated multi-faceted improvements in 2018. On the field, he earned the AL platinum glove award. At the plate, he improved on his rookie campaign and proved that he was immune to any sophomore slump. Just to give you an idea, Chapman smacked 42 doubles and six triples to go with 24 homers and a .278 batting average. Also, he ranked fourth in the American League in OPS for players under 26 years old and finished eighth in the league in second-half OPS (.861).
In 2019, Chapman will look to improve a couple of things to continue his progression. His strikeout rate (23.7%) sits near league average, which is easy to deal with given a decent 9.4% walk rate. One thing to keep an eye on is Chapman’s ground-ball rate (40.3%), which was the highest of his short professional career. It is not something to be concerned about just yet as his hard-hit rate (43%) will help alleviate that issue. A side note is that he had offseason surgery on his right shoulder, but will be ready for spring training. Chapman is the 14th ranked third base-eligible player, and while this writer would love to get a few bargain shares of him, his current ADP of 98 is fairly priced.
