RADIO
Whit Merrifield 2022 Player Outlook: Bounce Back In Power Will Make Draft Cost Worth It
3 years agoKansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield had a hard time finding his power stroke last season but made up for it with 40 stolen bases, second in baseball. Across 162 games, he slashed .277/.317/.395 with 10 HRs, 97 runs, and 74 RBI. His batted-ball data wasn't very impressive, ranking in the sixth percentile for HardHit% and barreling the ball just 3.5% of the time. His .277 batting average isn't bad, but his .262 xBA looks worse. Despite this, Merrifield's HR/FB was a minuscule 5%, compared to 11.3% and 8.7% in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Also, for the most part, his quality of contact wasn't far off from the year prior when he was in the seventh percentile for HardHit%, and his max exit velocity of 107.8 was the highest of his career. If he can get a few more barrels, the 32-year-old should get back up around the 16 home runs he put up in '19. With his elite sprint speed, Merrifield will continue stealing bases and his ability to avoid the strikeouts should keep his batting average up around .280. His ADP of 30 seems fair, especially with Marcus Semien, who won't be as big of a factor in steals and batting average, going 26th overall.
