2018 - Home Runs: 20 (T-70th), FB: 46.2%, HR/FB: 9.9%
Popping 20 jacks a season ago, Max Kepler possesses an intriguing profile -- he walks a ton (11.6%), he doesn't strike out a lot (15.7%, 32nd-best among qualified hitters), and he plays a lot (550+ plate appearances in back-to-back seasons). But only 20 homers?
2019 could be the season he makes the leap forward. He added nearly five percentage points to his hard-hit rate (37.1%), and his .224 batting average seems to only have been held back by a poor BABIP (.236).
With a very strong fly-ball rate, and a premium spot (fifth) in a revamped Twins order in a poor AL Central, Kepler could make for an intriguing sleeper in 2019.