MLB
Fantasy Baseball: 5 Hitters Due for Positive Home Run Regression in 2019
These five players posted underwhelming home run totals in 2018. Can we expect them to raise the bar in 2019?

Ian Kinsler, 2B, San Diego Padres

2018 - Home Runs: 14 (T-102nd), FB: 42.0%, HR/FB: 7.8%

Moving west to bat leadoff for the San Diego Padres as part of their new-look offense, does veteran Ian Kinsler have one more season of solid power left in that bat?

Kinsler hit only 14 homers last year (which may have been influenced by a hamstring injury) after notching at least 20 in each of the last two seasons, but he may have simply run into some bad luck. His 42.0% fly-ball rate was still well above league average, and he managed to cut his whiff rate down to only 12.0%.

Kinsler's ISO did dip a year ago, down to .140, so it's fair to be concerned that the 36-year-old slugger could be showing some signs of slowing down. However, he's recorded double-digit homers in eight consecutive years and still smacked 26 doubles a season ago.

With an elite fly-ball rate still part of his batting profile, he could return to the high teens in home runs in 2019.

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