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Nomar Mazara 2020 Outlook: A New Home Could Provide Hope
Nomar Mazara was one of the more exciting prospects to arrive in Texas in 2016, as he was touted as a very promising mixture of maturity and advanced skills. The Rangers were looking forward to him providing an impressive blend of power and on-base skills. In his first four years in the minors his OBP was consistently above .350 and his ISO soared above .200 at two levels in 2014. The Rangers were hoping he would continue to blossom with on-the-job experience in the Majors. But while Mazara was never a bust, he never seemed to elevate above adequacy. He has never hit .270 or produced more than 20 homers. So he was dealt to the White Sox in the offseason, and maybe a change of scenery can boost him to greater offensive heights. Mazara has been a consistent 20-homer type so far, but the BA and OBP has been disappointing (OBP under .320 the last two seasons) and the RBI production has dropped over the past two seasons (77 and 66). Still, Mazara is entering his age 25 season and there can still be potential for improvements. His Barrel % jumped to a career-best 10.7 last season, which was an encouraging sign. An xSLG of .485 also offers hope for increased returns. The Exit Velocity of 89.1 and Hard Hit % of 39.3 reflect he should at least remain a respectable source of power production. There may be nowhere to go up statistically. Mazara still hits the ball on the ground a bit much (46.8 rate in 2019), and the White Sox could start to help him correct that issue if they want the overall results to improve. Injuries have also hindered him some over the past two seasons, most notably an oblique problem in the later stages of 2019. Mazara is still young and talented enough to come through with a breakout season if he stays healthy and finds a groove in a new environment. The right coaching or chemistry with new teammates could be among the solutions. He has an ADP of 248.86, and is viable at such a spot for at least a decent return with some promise for upside.
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