Daniel Vogelbach May Be Here To Stay
6 years agoSeattle Mariners first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach is off to a hot start this year with a .400/.513/.1.133 slash line and six home runs in the early going. Vogelbach's plate approach is pretty solid for a slugger of his caliber, and he had a .395 on-base percentage in eight minor league seasons. He has a 17.9 percent walk rate in 2019 and has only swung at 36.5 percent of pitches, per Statcast. The lefty slugger is also hitting balls very hard inside the strike zone. He's making contact on 88.6 percent of swings against pitches inside the zone, putting him in the top 20 percent this year. He's near the top of baseball in expected weighted on-base average and is barreling balls up frequently. Vogelbach made a change to lower his hands last year as well, and it seems to be paying off, as five of his six home runs have come off pitches lower in the strike zone, which had been a problem for him before. Although playing time could be the biggest problem, Vogelbach is certainly worth a waiver wire pickup if he's available in your league and you're in need of power.
Source: MLB.com - Matt Kelly
Source: MLB.com - Matt Kelly