6 years agoRobinson Chirinos quietly put up a career year in his age-33 season for the Texas Rangers. Setting new career bests in every category other than AVG, he hit .222 with 18 HR, 48 R, 65 RBI and he even stole two bases for good measure. Battling some injuries in the early part of his career, 2018 turned out to be the first year where he played in more than 100 games. The additional playing time undoubtedly helped boost his R and RBI totals, but his ascending power metrics are what’s most appealing about the backstop. Chirinos has been increasing his FB% over the past three seasons as it topped out at 48.9% last season, and his Hard% also hit a new high at 44.1%. The right-hander managed only a 16.7% HR/FB in 2018 which was a three year low, so some positive regression in this category is likely to come in 2019. Now playing for the Houston Astros, he will get the majority of the teams starts behind the dish, so a 20 HR season certainly isn’t out of the question. In a much deeper Astros lineup, he should also see a slight bump in his R and RBI production as well. Chirinos’ poor plate discipline won’t have him winning any batting titles though, as he struck out at a frightful 32.9% clip last season. Expecting anything more than his .233 career AVG is optimistic, but finding any catcher with a decent batting average and good pop in the later rounds is next to impossible. Currently being selected as the 18th catcher off the board at an ADP of 276, Chirinos has some promising value at this spot.--Riley Mrack - RotoBaller