2 months agoEarlier this offseason, the Los Angeles Angels acquired outfielder Jorge Soler from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Griffin Canning. Soler played the first year of his three-year deal with the San Francisco Giants last season but was eventually shipped to Atlanta at the deadline. Playing in a poor offensive environment in Oracle Park (seventh-lowest offensive Park Factor on Statcast), Soler hit just 12 long balls with a .419 SLG across 93 games. However, over his final 43 games with Atlanta, Soler turned the corner as he launched nine home runs with a higher .493 SLG. In 2024, Soler saw his hard-hit rate drop four percentage points and barrel rate drop three points. However, his 44.1% hard-hit rate and 12.6% barrel rate were still significantly above the average marks, which is a great sign heading into 2025. In addition, Soler continued to mash fastballs as he posted a nearly identical .543 xSLG (.547 xSLG in 2023) in 2024 but saw his production against offspeed and breaking balls drop. Moving to Los Angeles which was graded as having the 13th-highest Park Factor on Statcast, is a promising sign for his power output. Soler also carries great value in points and on-base percentage leagues, given his impressive 11.8% walk rake he held in 2024. Soler has never seen his walk rate drop below 10% since his rookie campaign. Fantasy managers should target Soler if needing 20+ HR upside with RBI potential batting alongside Mike Trout, Logan O'Hoppe, and Zach Neto at his current 222.84 ADP on the NFBC.--Andy Smith - RotoBaller