If you have Ben Zobrist on your fantasy team, chances are you are much happier than the guy who last owned him in your league. Zobrist hit his 12th homer in just 148 at-bats after looking like merely a very good bench player in the first 400 at-bats of his career. But now the patience that he displayed in the minors is present in his major league at-bats. He has turned a good percentage of his groundballs into line drives which has resulted in a better combination of average and slugging percentage that he has ever shown at any level. His HR/FB has shown significant growth the last two years. Maybe we should have seen it coming.His BABIP is just .311 which is much higher than his MLB average but not even close to the level he showed in the minors. He has reduced his infield flies to almost nothing by making steady progress in that area the last four years. This is an indication (as if the obvious ones were not enough) that he is making outstanding contact with the ball. He simply isn't missing the sweet spot of the bat when he makes contact this year. I haven't done much study in that area but that looks like a skill to me and not luck.
So yes, I am calling Ben Zobrist the real deal. He looks more like Chase Utley than a utility guy. Now, if he could just touch some hot bat against B.J. Upton, just a little...
Check out ESPN's Ben Zobrist Splits...
I was looking at his stats earlier today...I couldn't really find too many flaws with what he's doing. Talk about a team changer. He's contributing in all the hard positions and doing it out of nowhere. Everything you get out of the guy is essentially a bonus.
ReplyDeleteYep, hard to complain about a guy hitting like this that also qualifies at four positions in a lot of leagues.
ReplyDeletesince week 1 i've been weak on my 3rd 2B/SS spot, with only Bartlett/J. Lopez manning the other 2 spots & Lowrie out w/ injuries, spotted Zobrist's incredible efficiency around week 5, picked him up and have been true witness of his new-found tear recently.
ReplyDeletewhat's even more sweet was the fact that most people in my league still rated Alex Gonzalez/Chris Getz over the guy, haha!
but in all honesty, i think Zobrist's swing success might have something to do with this: http://theswingmechanic.com/ , if it holds true, i will be hawking Drew Sutton like crazy.
Elbert - that's amazing if true. I'm going to buy one for B.J. Upton and Jimmy Rollins!
ReplyDeleteHi Jon, i'm going to get one for Markakis+Bruce+Morales, as they've hurt me more than my ex recently; I wouldn't get one for both Bartlett+Longoria, as Zo' should be the one giving them.
ReplyDeletewait, Drew Sutton should give Bruce one after he gets called up sometime this season, yea!! just saved me another $100 !
LOL, Bruce would be Babe Ruth with one, is power is already up there. I gotta figure out to get Sutton onto my farm system...
ReplyDeleteI had Jose Reyes,Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore go down and suddenly I've got Kelly Johson at 2B...and Orlando Cabrera at SS during the 6th week. I picked up Zobrist on a hunch and he has been the difference between being 7-2 and 5-4.
ReplyDeleteThis guy is going to be a star...It's an unbelievable benefit to get OF-type numbers out of my 2B. He picks up 7 FP on a night without even hitting a HR. All the tools. If he's available in your league, pick him up NOW!