Fantasy Baseball 2018 Sleeper: Athletics’ Stephen Piscotty

After a disappointing 2017 season, Stephen Piscotty enters 2018 as a fantasy sleeper on a new team.

The Oakland A’s are trying to stay competitive in the American League West. The team bolstered its bullpen with a trade and free-agent signing. The team added another piece to its offense by trading for outfielder Stephen Piscotty. After a down season, he will be a sleeper in many fantasy baseball drafts.

The St. Louis Cardinals were believers in  after a breakout 2016 campaign. They liked him enough to sign him to a six-year $33.5 million dollar contract. The 2017 season changed a lot of minds. Piscotty struggled to produce all season, outside of a 121 wRC+ in June. He followed that month with an 11 wRC+ July.

Injuries played a major role in a disappointing 2017 for Piscotty. The injuries, the Cardinal’s miss management, and demotions never gave him a chance to right the ship. His one healthy month (90 ABs) was a productive June. Piscotty slashed .258/.377/.452 with four of his seven home runs. No other month did he receive more than 80 ABs.

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The Rebound

A Piscotty rebound starts with getting playing time. According to RosterResource, he projects as the A’s full-time right fielder and six-hole hitter. Consistent at-bats should give him ample opportunity to show off his power and drive in Matt Olsen and Khris Davis (the A’s projected fifth and fourth hitters).

A full 600 PAs could be all he needs to right the ship as his underlying statistics showed some positive progress.

Stephen Piscotty took a big step forward in terms of plate discipline last season. His BB% soared to 13% as opposed to 7.9% in 2015-16. He lowered his Swinging Strike rate down to 1.8 percentage points to 10.6%, but that could be due to an over less amount of pitches swung at.

Piscotty swung at 47% of pitches last season which is a sharp decrease from the 52.5% the season before. His contact statistics did not change much with the lessened amount of swings (a strong indicator of repeatable past success).

This change in plate discipline signifies some growth in what was an overall down season. A change of scenery could do wonders as well as another hitting coach could help him begin to elevate more pitches and unlock more home run potential.

Shifting focus from plate discipline to contact profile, we notice a rise in ground ball rate at 49.2%. We will also see his HR/FB ratio dipped to 10.6% in 2017 from 13.5% in 2016. His leg injuries played a large role in the missing power in 2017. We see that in his Soft% rising and his exit velocity falling. Leg injuries can disrupt both the timing and force behind a swing, so it’s good to see that Piscotty’s loss of exit velocity can be linked to non-mechanical issues.

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A healthy, 600 PA Stephen Piscotty could be an absolute steal. Currently, he is the 48th OF according to ESPN (166th overall), but he has been slipping down later in drafts. A return to form means another 20-plus home run season. A lot of his other counting stats lands in how well a young Oakland A’s offense can produce around him. If everything pans out, Piscotty should have another 80/80 run/RBI season.