Diamondbacks Sign Alex Avila: Fantasy impact

Alex Avila will start the 2018 season behind the plate for the Diamondbacks. Will he be fantasy relevant or just another name on the waiver wire?

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been pretty quiet this offseason. With J.D. Martinez still on the market, you would think they’d be a little more active. They did fill in one spot on their roster by signing catcher Alex Avila. With a decent bat to his name, will he be worth owning in fantasy leagues?

Avila joins a team with some pretty good hitters around him. You know, guys like A.J. Pollock, David Peralta, Jake Lamb. Oh, and Paul Goldschmidt. According to Roster Resource, Avila will bat sixth, between Yasmany Tomas and Chris Owings. I think that will be a good spot for him to post a good batting average and counting stats.

Chase Field is also a very hitter-friendly park. It finished fourth in home runs, sixth in hits and first in doubles, according to ESPN Park Factors. There are still rumors of the Diamondbacks installing a humidor to store the balls. This was supposed to happen last year but it kept getting pushed back and back and is scheduled to be installed this year.

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Fangraphs had a write-up last year on how the humidor would affect the batters. They said that batters with over 105 MPH exit velocity may not be affected but those with a 94 or 92 MPH exit velocity could see a decrease in power.

Avila had a 48.7 hard hit rate last year, by far the highest of his career. According to Statcast, though, Avila’s average exit velocity was 90.9 MPH. That doesn’t bode well for his power potential in Chase Field.

He did have his best power-hitting season in years. Avila finished with 14 home runs, 49 RBI and a .264 average in 112 games. The slight in games played was because he took a backseat role to Willson Contreras in Chicago.

I think Avila will be a viable catching option in NL-only or two-catcher leagues. I have him ranked as my No. 17 catcher but may move him up a spot or two as a result of this news. Fantasypros had him at No. 26 but that was before he signed with the Diamondbacks.

The only negative impact of this move affects the Diamondbacks pitchers. Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner both rate Avila as one of the worst in pitch framing. His starting pitchers may lose a couple of strikeouts and gain some walks per game as a result.

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Avila joins a team with a good offense and a hitter-friendly park (for now). At best, he is my No. 15 catcher. If you play in a deeper league, you can get by with Avila as your starter but I would pair him up with someone like a James McCann or Austin Hedges. He will have another good season for fantasy owners.