Orioles Mark Trumbo: Tumbling out of fantasy relevancy

We all know that high strikeout sluggers age poorly, so will 2018 signal the end of Mark Trumbo?

It appears that no-one told the Baltimore Orioles’ designated hitter Mark Trumbo that ball was juiced last season. He went deep just 23 times, looking a shell of the player who slugged 47 homers to lead the league in 2016.

His 23 home runs are a very poor return from a player drafted for his power with an ADP of 71. The 23 home runs are a total even less than the Athletics’ Matt Olson hit, and he played 87 fewer games.

Never a good source of batting average, Trumbo slumped to a career-low .238 AVG, with an even more disappointing .289 OBP. There is no argument that he was unlucky with balls failing to go for hits as his .278 BABIP was identical in both 2016 and 2017.

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The right-hander will be 32-years-old when the season starts. His sub-standard defense, coupled with the up-and-coming youngsters in the Orioles’ system, will confine him to the DH role again in 2018.

The Orioles are rumored to be shopping Trumbo for a pitcher. Although .686 OPS from the Designated Hitter slot is no help to any MLB or fantasy team, and with $26 million due through 2019, Trumbo’s trade value is at an all-time low.

He posted one of the lowest OPS vs. right-handers last season in the whole of baseball, so his future as a platoon bat looks increasingly more likely.

Tristan Cockcroft of ESPN ranks Trumbo 166 for next season, which looks unrealistic when you consider that he ranks Jose Bautista and Albert Pujols more than 60 spots lower. There is a similarity between the trio of declining sluggers. All hit exactly 23 home runs during a disappointing 2017 season, but with Bautista, you get a high number of walks, and with Pujols, you get a steady supply of RBI.

The Orioles will hope Trumbo returns to his 2016 level of production, but nothing points to a bounceback. There was a big drop in power from 39% hard-hit rate in 2016 to just 30% last season, and his woes were exacerbated as the season progressed as he slashed .202/.243/.357 after the All-Star break.

Next: Should you draft DJ LeMahieu in 2018?

Power is plentiful, so you don’t need to invest in a declining slugger who strikes out 25% of the time.