RADIO
Vinnie Pasquantino 2024 Player Outlook: After 2023 Cut Short, Contact Profile Points To Rebound
11 months agoKansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino's 2023 season was cut short after suffering a torn labrum 61 games in. The former eleventh-round pick was attempting to build on 2022 when he posted a 136 wRC+ in 298 PA at the MLB level (72 games) and had a .285-28-96-77-4 line between 522 Triple-A and MLB ABs. His 2023 line was .247-9-26-24-0 with a .327 WOBA and 103 wRC+ in 260 PA before he went down. Through 558 PA in the majors, "Pas-quatch" has maintained the low K% (11.6%) and above-average BB% (10.8%) he exhibited in the minors. Both his Contact% (84.0%) and SwStr% (7.4%) are well above-average too. With those types of bat-to-ball skills and a bit more luck (.250 BABIP in 2023), there should be a rebound in batting average in 2024, while generating sneaky power production. ATC projections for 2024 see the lefty with a .273-21-74-68-1 line with a .354 WOBA and 125 wRC+ in 562 PA (133 games). He's fully healthy going into the season, so if Pasquantino can manage to get a bit closer to 600 PA while batting cleanup, those numbers could end up a bit more stout. RotoBaller appropriately prices him at 165 overall, slightly ahead of his NFBC ADP of 170.
