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Evan Longoria 2019 Outlook: Positive Regression Should Create Low-End Fantasy Appeal
6 years agoEvan Longoria moving to the worst offensive park in all of MLB seemed like a bad idea when the San Francisco Giants acquired him, and the resulting campaign (.244/.281/.413 with 16 HR in 512 PAs) proved it. He was 32 years old and already in decline after a down 2017 (.261/.313/.424 with 20 HR in 677 PAs). However, there should be some low-end fantasy value for the now-33-year-old in 2019. A low BABIP (.274 vs. .297 career) masked an increased fly-ball rate (36.8% in 2017, 39.1% last year) and decreased IFFB% (14.2% vs. 10%) relative to 2017, suggesting some positive regression in Longoria's future. His name recognition and substantial paycheck should also keep him in the middle of the Giants lineup, giving him more opportunities for runs and RBI than some owners might be expecting. Longoria doesn't have the upside to be worth rostering in shallow leagues, but a .260 batting average with 20 bombs and some counting stats are valuable in deeper formats such as NL-Only leagues. This writer feels that Longoria has a shot at being the 2019 version of 2018 Nick Markakis.
