Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
It’s tough lumping Gordon into this category because of his past track record. The 2015 World Series winner has six Gold Gloves and three All-Star Game appearances to his name, so it’s not as if he’s completely off the radar. He tried his best to do that from 2016-18, though — in 1,615 plate appearances, he slashed just .225/.310/.355.
But the 35-year-old is looking more like himself in 2019. Through 201 trips to the plate, he’s slashing a healthy .287/.388/.515 with eight home runs, 34 RBI, and 31 runs scored, which has led to a 138 wRC+ and 1.9 fWAR. His 10.4% walk rate is on track to be the highest it’s been since 2016, while his 13.4% strikeout rate is on track to easily be a new career-best mark.
What’s interesting is that his line-drive rate is currently sitting at 19.0%, which would be it’s lowest mark since 2014 and the first time it’s been below 24.0% since then. He’s had much more success with it, though. Gordon’s 435 wRC+ for this batted-ball event is on track to be a career high, while his 7.4% soft-hit rate and 48.2% hard-hit rate are among the best marks he’s ever produced.
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