Fansided

The Early Fantasy Success of Jose Abreu

By Clave Jones

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Apr 27, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox designated hitter Jose Abreu hits a two-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Photo Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

It’s weird. Shocking, even. It’s almost as if Jose Abreu is really good.

Or…or…fellow Cuban Yasiel Puig has laced all of America’s water supply with wild hallucinogens!!!!

This is the Internet so it would be irresponsible not to wildly speculate. Additionally, that would allow me to give this post the incredibly linkbaity title: “Los Angeles Dodger Yasiel Puig Behaving Reckless Once Again. This Post Will Shock You and You Won’t Believe What He’s Up to Next!”

Alas, we’re just here to talk about how good Jose Abreu is, wild internet conspiracy theories aside. Luckily, the answer really will blow you away. Read on to find out what happens next…

After One Month

[table id=657 /]

Those April numbers project into a 162-game average of 117 Runs, 56 Home Runs and 190 RBI. IDK, that’s pretty good, right?

Fine, so we all know that his April pace won’t carry for the full season, but a month’s worth of games is enough to certainly give us some confidence that the man can hit MLB pitching (and hit those pitches a loooooong way).

Abreu has hit way, way better in Cuba than any other hitter who has ever defected from Cuba and that so far has translated quickly and excellently for fantasy owners.

Abreu is well known to be a hard worker and very professional when it comes to baseball. So far it’s showed in how he’s approached his transition form Cuba’s Serie Nacional League to the Majors. Abreu has hit way, way better in Cuba than any other hitter who has ever defected from Cuba and that so far has translated quickly and excellently for fantasy owners.

What’s Next?

Well, pretty soon you will be fighting fantasy owners everywhere for the next Cuban sensation. But you’ll want even more value, even better stats….where will it all end? A bitter spiral of anger, addiction, and freezing nights sleeping in a dumpster outside of Knollwood Mall, that’s where.

But you were specifically wondering what was next for Jose Abreu, weren’t you?

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    • Well, quite frankly, I think he gets better from here and I have several reasons for believing this:

    • Hitting in the heart of the lineup gives him more RBI opportunities, and he’s certainly making the most of that. A 190 RBI pace is absurd, but it’s clear that we are dealing with a hitter that makes a lot out of his opportunities.
    • His strikeouts have been a little higher than expected, while his walks a little lower. Expect this to change. If nothing else, he’ll start to garner more intentional walks, plus he’ll learn to spot MLB breaking stuff better, which should help with the strikeouts and make him a better overall hitter.
    • His BABIP is a little below league average, plus if the Ks do decrease some, he could settle in nicely at the .285-.290 batting average range.

    But reminding fantasy owners that Jose Abreu should continue to pile on RBI and hit for a solid average is only distracting from the main event: I’d be shocked if he finishes the season with less than 30 home runs and 40 seems likely. Even this early into his young career it is safe to compare Jose Abreu to Edwin Encarnacion, another 1B with a excellent hitting skills and light tower power. 

    I’d be shocked if he finishes the season with less than 30 home runs and 40 seems likely.

    If you want to read more and dive deeper into his numbers, I invite you to click through to a previous piece I wrote about Abreu, but I will close this by quoting my conclusion from that piece:

    "At best we’re possibly looking at one of the league’s better hitters."

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