4 years agoIn his first season in the National League, Mookie Betts seemed to make a mostly smooth transition, as the power and speed numbers still looked very impressive on the surface. He was among the MLB leaders in home runs (16) and stolen bases (10). His SLG% jumped from ,524 to .562 and at first glance, much of his standard stats did not fluctuate much. A deeper dive, though, revealed a somewhat altered approach. The Launch Angle went from 18.5 to 15.9, which trimmed his outstanding .313 xBA in 2019 to .285, and dropped his xSLG from .580 to .487. Betts' walk rate also fell from 13.7 to 9.8. Those trends don't necessarily point to anything alarming, though, and won't affect his ADP of third overall. Betts will hit leadoff in a terrific lineup and he is in the prime of his career and very content with his new ball club. The 2020 Statcast indicators may simply point to the fact that you should not expect him to approach a BA well over .300 or an OBP significantly over .400, and the 16 homers may not translate to well over 30-plus over a full campaign. He should produce more in line with his 2019 totals rather than 2018 from a hitting perspective, though the 10 steals in 55 games last year could point to 25-plus again in 2021. Let's not forget he became one of two Dodgers to steal two bases in multiple playoff games in the 2020 postseason.--Scott Engel - RotoBaller