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Dylan Carlson 2020 Outlook: Legit Power But Steals, Average are Suspect
5 years agoDylan Carlson enjoyed a breakout season in 2019 while spending most of the year in Double-A. He finished up with 18 games in Triple-A where he swiped two bases to give him a 20-20 (HR-SB) season for the first time in his four-year pro career. It was, in fact, the first time that he hit more than 11 home runs or stolen more eight bases. It was also the first time he hit more than .251. Carlson has always shown excellent patience, and he will have additional value in leagues like Ottoneu that reward walks, but we do have some reservations over his breakout season. He might be getting overrated a bit too much so be cautious when bidding for his services. The massive power spike came out of nowhere but seems to have coincided with his body adding muscle, as well as a conscious effort to hit more fly balls. But when watching him play, we see a player who still gets fooled by off-speed stuff. His swing also gets long more often than not and he doesn’t have the natural, explosive bat speed of a Luis Robert. He’ll likely be a low-average, big-power guy and the stolen base acumen that he showed in 2019 likely won’t translate to the Majors. Barring a trade, Carlson will have to beat out fellow young slugger Tyler O’Neill for the starting gig in left field.
