Cardinals Paul DeJong: 2018 Fantasy breakout star

The Cardinals traded 2016 All-Star Aledmys Díaz to Toronto. With no competition, NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Paul DeJong is a fantasy sleeper.

The St. Louis Cardinals are still in the hunt for outfield slugger Giancarlo Stanton. That doesn’t mean the team should wait around until they trade (or don’t) for him. The Cardinals traded shortstop Aledmys Diaz Friday night, giving Paul DeJong the starting job in 2018 and is a potential breakout star this season.

DeJong made his first appearance on May 28, hitting a pinch-hit home run. He spent the majority of his first month at second base but the Cardinals moved him over to shortstop when Kolten Wong returned from injury.

DeJong hit .285/.325/.532 with 25 home runs, 65 RBI and 55 runs scored. He did strike out 124 times with just 21 walks. He finished as No. 21 on the Player Rater among all qualified shortstops. The power is good to see, yet another 20-home run hitter for fantasy, but if you play in a league that penalizes strikeouts, his value drops some.

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DeJong had a 33.7 ground ball rate and 42.9 fly ball rate. He was able to turn almost 20 percent of those fly balls into home runs. The downside was that he saw a first-pitch strike on over 61 percent of his at-bats and a 51.6 percent swing rate.

If he wants to increase his batting average and get under 100 strikeouts, he’ll have to keep his bat on his shoulder some more.

The Cardinals looked to be set with Diaz as their shortstop last season. He hit .300 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI in 111 games in 2016. Diaz also struck out just 60 times while walking 41 times. He was an All-Star and finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Unfortunately, he was unable to carry that performance into 2017. In 79 games, Diaz hit .259/.290/.392 with seven homers, 20 RBI and 31 runs. Diaz had a .260 average before the Cardinals sent him down to Triple-A and decided to switch to DeJong. Diaz would return to play another eight games but wouldn’t make a start.

DeJong also carries second base eligibility into 2018. You can draft him as your middle infielder and enjoy the power potential he will provide you. I currently have DeJong outside my top-20 shortstops but I wouldn’t be opposed to drafting him ahead of guys like Tim Beckham or Amed Rosario.

He doesn’t have the speed like Rosario but has a lot more power and is a bit more patient at the plate than Beckham. If he plays a full season, DeJong will likely see his batting average drop to around .260-.270 but I wouldn’t be surprised if he hit 30 home runs in 145 games.

Next: Fantasy fallout of White Sox signing Welington Castillo

When drafting, you should be able to wait on DeJong. Stack up your star power and contact guys first and have DeJong as a utility option and off-day fill in. You could even use him as a trade chip if an opponent needs power help.