CLEVELAND - Sluggers Pete Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sure made hitting for power look easy on Monday night, as they sent myriad rockets into the night and out of Progressive Field in the Home Run Derby. Could you see Kansas City Royals second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield doing this? Of course not! He is a different type of player because he contributes in all five of the general hitting roto categories, while remaining a points-league gem -- and he certainly was not carrying fantasy managers back when he was in his early 20s.
Merrifield certainly carries fantasy managers now. With a .306 batting average, 11 home runs, 44 runs batted in, 13 stolen bases and 62 runs scored, his surprising 2017 breakout continues to look less and less surprising. Merrifield ranks No. 13 among all hitters on the ESPN Player Rater entering the second half and, while we could quibble about his paucity of stolen bases compared to previous seasons, we still have a .300 hitter on pace to establish career-highs in home runs and runs scored. On Monday, I asked the late-blooming Merrifield about his rise to stardom and his first All-Star appearance.
"I've continued to get better and I work hard to get better in every aspect of the game," said Merrifield, who played for Triple-A Omaha over three seasons before debuting in the majors at the age of 27, then performing above expectations and forcing the Royals to play him regularly. "I feel like my biggest strength is my ability to recognize when I do something wrong and fix it, and I continue to get bigger and faster each year."
As for Merrifield's power, the 19 blasts he hit for the Royals in 2017 seemed incongruous with his minor-league numbers, and many fantasy analysts and managers predicted a rough 2018 campaign for home runs. While he raised his OPS a bit, the home runs dropped from 19 to 12, but he stole 11 more bases. This season, Merrifield is on pace to reach 20 home runs and, to be fair, everyone seems to be flaunting power. The baseballs, even if unintentionally so, are different. However, Merrifield's stats are not surprising to him.
"The homers have never been there, but I always hit a bunch of doubles, and I've always been able to drive the ball," he said. "It's been a matter of getting a little stronger and putting a good swing on a good pitch. That's the main thing for me. I can hit a homer anywhere but I have to make a good swing and hit it flush. I can't really miss balls and hit homers like some of these big, strong guys can. That's what's great about baseball. You can have Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve and it doesn't really matter how big you are. Big guys can have certain advantages. I'm pretty average size, 6-foot, 190 pounds. There's some monsters in here for sure, but I knew personally I had it in me -- but most people didn't."
Meanwhile, only 15 players have hit for a better average than Merrifield, but nobody tops New York Mets leadoff option Jeff McNeil, rolling along at .349. Similar to Merrifield, McNeil's ascension to All-Star status is surprising and comes at an older age, after years of relative non-prospect status. However, the contact-oriented McNeil hit .329 in irregular duty as a rookie and forced the Mets to play him this season. McNeil boasts that his job is to get on base and not to worry about power, but he also says that if the team needed more home runs, he could supply them.
"That has always been my approach at the plate, to put the ball in play and hit it hard," said McNeil, who has started games at four different positions in 2019. "I hit a bunch of singles. I don't need the power. Power is nice, and I want the power obviously, but I hit 22 home runs total last year, 19 in the minors and three in the big leagues. So, I know there's power. I have seven this year and I know I could definitely run into 20-a-year if I'm not trying to just slap the ball around the field. But I got Pete [Alonso] hitting behind me, so I just have to get on base."
Meanwhile, power is a calling card for Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe -- so much so that in an AL rookie class with big names such as Guerrero and Eloy Jimenez, he acknowledges he is probably the leader for the award at this point. Lowe showed power and the ability to draw walks in the minor leagues, and a March contract extension made it more likely he would make the Rays out of spring training. The concern was in terms of strikeouts, and even now he is on pace for 185 whiffs. Fantasy managers don't care, though, as long as he continues his pace for 28 home runs without hurting their batting average.
"It's been crazy, but I was thankful for the extension and I love the atmosphere we have on the Rays," said Lowe, currently on the injured list with a leg contusion he doesn't expect to keep him sidelined for long. I asked Lowe about the possibility of reaching 30 home runs in his rookie season. "I always had that confidence that I would perform, but if you had told me that I might hit 30 home runs when I was in college [at Maryland] I would have looked at you like you were insane. I'm in college and I've never hit an [opposite field] home run in my life and now I'm sitting there with a 3-0 count and a green light and I'm hitting an opposite field home run in the majors. All the hard work through two offseasons is really paying off."
One theme among the relatively new All-Stars that I sought out is ongoing denial that the power they have developed is due to the launch angle revolution. Seattle Mariners first baseman Daniel Vogelbach, who seemed like a candidate to hit for power and draw walks so many years ago as a blocked Chicago Cubs prospect, is doing this in his age-26 season. He says he revamped his swing in 2017 but concentrated more on approach. "If you hit the ball hard, good things will happen."
Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Max Muncy echoed that sentiment, noting he had to make mental adjustments and mechanical tweaks to his swing when he wasn't even sure he would stay in baseball at all when he was released by the Oakland Athletics during the 2017 offseason. He says he paid no attention to launch angle. "I just had to find a different mindset, a different approach, a different aggressiveness at the plate," he says. "I never cared about launch angle."
Finally, there is New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu, leading the American League with a .336 batting average, which is surprising enough since that mark is better than what LeMahieu managed in home games at Denver's Coors Field in recent seasons. LeMahieu's 15 home runs in 2018 marked a career-best. Now he is on pace for 22 blasts, as well as 116 runs batted in and 120 runs scored, after leaving the friendly Coors Field. Considering fantasy draft-day value, his name should be right there with Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell, Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers and Arizona Diamondbacks surprise Ketel Marte for fantasy hitter MVP honors.
"I made no changes in my swing," LeMahieu noted. "Last year I wasn't super consistent like I wanted to be, but I was also on the DL three times. I feel like had a good year but was not as consistent as I'm used to, so I don't know if I'm surprised [by these numbers]. I don't go into a season trying to hit homers."
My take on these players: Merrifield is a legit 20/20 option with major numbers in batting average and runs scored. Christian Yelich, Tim Anderson and Fernando Tatis Jr. are the other players hitting .300 and on pace for 20 home runs and 20 steals. OK, so we would have liked 20 homers with 40 steals, but that seems unlikely today. This is a potential third-round pick in 2020 drafts. ... McNeil is going to win the NL batting title and flirt with 100 runs scored, and should be universally rostered by now. The Mets should have been playing him regularly all along, really. ... Lowe is a bit of a batting-average risk and his plate discipline has yet to translate, but he could hit 30 home runs for real. Even today, that matters, especially from a middle infielder. ... Muncy hit 35 home runs last season and is on pace to top that mark, so clearly what he is doing is not a fluke. He has also settled into second base and made a terrific defensive play in the All-Star game. What a career transformation! ... LeMahieu is a reminder that Colorado Rockies hitters can actually improve when they change franchises, because of the challenges of adapting from home and road games for the club. LeMahieu admitted it is easier to be a consistent hitter without playing half the time in elevation.