Fantasy Baseball: The 25 Least Powerful Hitters Who Slugged 20-Plus Homers in 2017
Players Ranked 12th to 1st
We've got a mix of younger players and veterans making up the top half of this list, and 5 or 10 years ago, it would've been crazy to see a few of these guys here.
| Rank | Player | PA | BB% | K% | HR | R | RBI | ISO | wOBA | wRC+ | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Ian Kinsler | 613 | 9.0% | 14.0% | 22 | 90 | 52 | .176 | .313 | 91 | 2.4 |
| 11 | Tim Beckham | 575 | 6.3% | 29.0% | 22 | 67 | 62 | .176 | .334 | 109 | 3.5 |
| 10 | Elvis Andrus | 689 | 5.5% | 14.7% | 20 | 100 | 88 | .174 | .344 | 110 | 4.1 |
| 9 | Robinson Cano | 648 | 7.6% | 13.1% | 23 | 79 | 97 | .172 | .334 | 112 | 3.3 |
| 8 | Nomar Mazara | 616 | 8.9% | 20.6% | 20 | 64 | 101 | .170 | .317 | 92 | 0.4 |
| 7 | Jose Bautista | 686 | 12.2% | 24.8% | 23 | 92 | 65 | .164 | .295 | 80 | -0.5 |
| 6 | Evan Longoria | 677 | 6.8% | 16.1% | 20 | 71 | 86 | .163 | .312 | 96 | 2.5 |
| 5 | Brett Gardner | 682 | 10.6% | 17.9% | 21 | 96 | 63 | .163 | .336 | 108 | 3.8 |
| 4 | Mark Trumbo | 603 | 7.0% | 24.7% | 23 | 79 | 65 | .163 | .295 | 80 | -1.2 |
| 3 | Shin-Soo Choo | 636 | 12.1% | 21.1% | 22 | 96 | 78 | .162 | .339 | 107 | 0.8 |
| 2 | Andrew Benintendi | 658 | 10.6% | 17.0% | 20 | 84 | 90 | .154 | .332 | 103 | 2.2 |
| 1 | Albert Pujols | 636 | 5.8% | 14.6% | 23 | 53 | 101 | .145 | .286 | 78 | -2.0 |
End of an Era
While Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista had a down 2016 campaign, he still managed to post a 122 wRC+ with 22 homers and a .217 ISO in 517 plate appearances. He did one-up that homer total in 2017, but he needed another 169 plate appearances to do so. Even if it's not the end of his career, it's definitely the end of his time north of the border, which was rather fruitful for all parties involved.
It's hard to find the positives in Joey Bats' performance from this past year. He was worth -0.5 fWAR and his 24.8% strikeout rate was the highest it's ever been in a full season, while his .164 ISO hadn't dipped that low since 2007. He still drew an above-average number of walks (12.2% walk rate), but it was his lowest mark since 2008, and his 10.9% swinging-strike rate hadn't been that high since 2005.
Basically, decline hit him hard, no matter how you slice it. If we want to keep going, we can also point out that his 45.0% pull rate and 31.4% hard-hit rate haven't both been this low since his first full year in Toronto, which was 2009.
What a Difference a Year Makes
We couldn't tell from the three-year, $37.5 million deal he signed in advance of the 2017 season, but Baltimore Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo was fresh off the best season of his career from an offensive standpoint. Hitting 47 homers and leading the league in that category will do that. This year, though? It looked a whole lot different.
Trumbo still hit 23 dingers, but his 80 wRC+ and -1.2 fWAR were a far cry from what he did in 2016 (125 and 2.2, respectively). There was a noticeable difference in his hard-hit rate, which dropped nearly nine percentage points to 30.4%.
He didn't punish four-seam fastballs quite the same way. The right-handed slugger posted a 237 wRC+ with an eye-popping .508 ISO (with 28 homers) off that pitch in 2016, but Trumbo turned around the following year to post just a 124 wRC+ and .195 ISO (with just 9 homers) in the same situation in 2017.
The Wrong Kind of Machine
Did you ever think we'd see the day where Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols could technically be considered the worst player in baseball? Well, judging by his -2.0 fWAR, he was this year (with Trumbo coming in a distant second with his -1.2 mark) when looking at qualified hitters.
"The Machine" seems to have some kinks that must be worked out, especially since he has another four years and $115 million left on his contract. Pujols still put up the counting stats in the power and run production departments, but his overall offensive production took a huge dive. In his 16 big league seasons entering 2017, he never posted a wRC+ lower than 110. That changed this past year with a very disappointing mark of 78.
He still didn't strikeout a ton, but his 14.6% strikeout rate and 8.8% swinging-strike rate are actually single-season career worsts. While he's still hitting a good number of fly balls (38.1% in 2017), he had a hard time being productive with them. His 95 wRC+ and .367 ISO for this batted-ball event is easily his worst ever, and it is well off his career averages (173 and .567, respectively).
Pujols is the kind of hitter that sprays fly balls all over the yard -- he has a 30.1% career pull rate on fly balls -- but his 21.9% pull rate on fly balls in 2017 was his lowest since 2007.
