For the kid once known as "Raul Jr.", it is not an
understatement to say that Kansas City Royals shortstop prospect Adalberto
Mondesi will be among the most-hyped "have to have him" players
entering into 2019 fantasy baseball drafts. While Mondesi's ugly hitting
struggles prior to last season were well-documented, it appeared that a change
in his stance at the dish while in the minors have unlocked what can only be
described as tremendous pure physical talent. It is very rare to find a
player who is built both for high-end power and speed like Mondesi is and his
75-game run with the Royals a year ago (.276, 14 home runs, 32 stolen bases)
was a league-clincher for many who were lucky enough to pick him up off
waivers. Even though it is far from an exact science, extrapolating
Mondesi's half-season run with the Royals last season would result in
absolutely silly numbers and that will fuel the hype train as 2019 drafts
arrive. So in terms of what to do with Mondesi in such a crazed
environment, it is would be an impossible sell to avoid paying what is expected
to be a very high price for the power/speed marvel this spring but we also need
to remind you of the endless cases of guys with similar half-year explosions
falling on their faces the following year. It is under this conservative
breath where you need to really focus in on the fact that despite all the
beautiful surface numbers last season, Mondesi's plate approach remain very
ugly as his 3.8 BB/9 was pathetic and the 26.5 K/9 were nothing to write home
about either. So that .276 Mondesi hit last season is unlikely to be
repeated going forward if those advanced metrics don't improve and remember this
is still the same guy who hit .170 and .185 during trial looks with the team
from 2016-17. In the end, you really don't want to get caught up in the
craziness that will be Mondesi's 2019 draft cost because the jury is still out
here on what kind of overall offensive player he can be.
2019 PROJECTION: .253 23 HR 65 RBI 77 R 44 SB
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