9 Bold Fantasy Baseball Predictions for 2019
Matt Chapman Will Be a Top-5 Third Baseman
NFBC ADP: 101.20
Position Rank: 10
| Projections | PA | Runs | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | wOBA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Season | 616 | 100 | 24 | 68 | 1 | .278 | .369 |
| THE BAT | 641 | 83 | 29 | 83 | 4 | .240 | .337 |
| Steamer | 631 | 97 | 28 | 99 | 4 | .274 | .366 |
| numberFire | 580 | 87 | 26 | 76 | 1 | .266 | -- |
Matt Chapman is coming off a fantastic 2018 season in which he slugged his way to 24 homers. But the Oakland Athletics' third baseman underwent shoulder surgery in December, causing him to slip a bit to where he's valued at now.
Should we be concerned?
While shoulders are always a bit dicey and that is fair concern, Chapman resumed full activities in A's camp this week. At the position a year ago, his first full season in the bigs, Chapman ranked seventh in wOBA (.366) and third in hard-hit rate (43.2%). He was a monster. His hard-hit rate was 43.2% -- a big jump from his small-sample 2017 clip -- and his strikeout rate was just 23.7%, which was another big improvement over his 2017 numbers.
There's a chance Chapman continues to make improvements and does even more in 2019. He owns a premium spot in the lineup, projected to hit third in front of sluggers Khris Davis and Matt Olson, and his top-shelf defense ensures he'll be in lineup nearly every day (145 games last year). There's so much to love here, and you should happily take the discount unless his shoulder flares up in the preseason.
