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Nick Castellanos 2021 Player Outlook: Out To Prove 2020 Was a Fluke
4 years agoNick Castellanos was a big disappointment last season, as he hit a career-low .225, and also fashioned a career-worst 28.5% strikeout rate. Raising his Launch Angle from 14 to 16.5 produced 14 homers in 60 games, but the HR/FB% of 23.7 was a big outlier and cannot, realistically, point to anything encouraging for 2021, although it did fill out his frustrating 2020 profile as a whiffing, added pop type. There is faith in his ability to bounce back, as evidenced by his ADP of 85. When you consider his xBA of .273 and a career-low .257 BABIP, last season does indeed carry some indicators of being an aberration. Castellanos is a career .274 hitter with a lifetime K% of 23.3, so a regression back to a much better BA and respectable OBP (career-low .298) should be realistically expected in 2021. Castellanos knows he was a flop last year, as he decided not to opt out of his contract with Cincinnati. He is projected to hit second in the Reds lineup, so it appears the team is counting on him to rebound, and you can do the same.
