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Vinnie Pasquantino 2023 Player Outlook: A Fair Price on a Great Young Hitter
2 years agoThe long-awaited arrival in Kansas City of Vinnie P happened last summer, and while he didn't set the world on fire, he really did dazzle on the field with what he was able to do in the underlying metrics. His contact rate was 84.7%, which isn't all that uncommon, but it is exceedingly rare to find a guy hitting the ball as hard as Pasquantino was hitting it. His 46.9% hard-hit rate was one of the best marks in the league and he kept the ball off the ground (41% GB%) - which is something young players often struggle to do. Only the league's best hitters are able to keep an above-average barrel rate (which Pasquantino did) while making contact on more than 80% of their swings, and Vinnie did it emphatically. This all sets the bar pretty high for his second year. We know we'll get a good batting average from him, and we are pretty sure he'll hit 25+ homers if given 150+ starts. The ADP does reflect all of this goodness, as he's a top-100 pick despite the lack of a sample - but the floor and ceiling he possesses more than justify the cost.
