RADIO
Austin Hedges Has Power Upside
7 years agoBecause of his excellent defensive prowess, Austin Hedges will catch the bulk of Padres games in 2018. Last season, his defense graded highest amongst MLB catchers and he was 8th in caught-stealing rate at 38%. Offensively, Hedges struggled with consistency and health, but still managed 18 HR despite a catcher-esque .214 Average and .660 OPS. Like other Padres, Hedges lacks plate discipline (29.4% K-rate, 0.19 BB:K), but some trends were encouraging to make the case for Hedges as a two-way backstop. The power surge in 2017 led to an ISO leap from .042 to .183 year-on-year and a spike in Hard-Contact Rate to 33.1% resulted in a .260 BABIP, nearly a 100-point improvement. Catcher is generally a frustrating fantasy position, but Hedges has youth (25 years old) and the improvement in slugging was a continuation of a strong 2016 campaign in Triple-A. As the 16th ranked catcher, Hedges might not make it on many cheat sheets, but owners taking a catcher-du-jour strategy should take a hard look at Hedges for homers and upside-RBI potential.
