Twins Max Kepler: Signs of a breakout coming?
By Brad Kelly
Max Kepler is one of the key building blocks for the upstart Twins. But, can fantasy owners trust him as a waiver wire add?
The Twins are off to a mediocre start of their 2018 season. Yet, they have to happy with the performance of Max Kepler over the first month of the season. But, can fantasy owners be impressed enough as well to make him a waiver wire add?
Max Kepler is one of the more interesting youngsters in the league. The German-born outfielder continually hit throughout the minors and was on the fast track for the majors. He got his first chance at full-time duties last season, and had a solid debut, albeit with faults.
He ended 2017 with a .243./19 HR/69 RBI/.737 OPS line over 147 games. He lost playing time late in the season as he could not even hit his weight versus lefties, and the K startled to pile up.
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Heading into 2018, Kepler was on the fringe of fantasy owners’ radar as his numbers were bogged down in the plethora of OF talent. But, to begin this season, Kepler has shown great strides at the plate.
He has posted a .290/4 HR/8 RBI/.914 OPS line over 20 games. Kepler surface numbers are solid, yet the areas that should catch fantasy owners’ attention the most is with his plate approach.
In 2017, he nearly struck out nearly three times for every walk he took. This season, he has struck out nine times and drawn eight walks. His struggles versus lefties were even more pronounced last season, yet he has improved enough to notch a .294/1 HR/3 RBI line versus them so far.
In his batted ball data his 13% LD rate is not where it needs to be, but he is offsetting that with 47% FB, 40% Med, and 40% Hard contact rates. He is lifting the ball more and with authority, making his six XBH already this year a good indicator of things to come.
With his improvements against lefties, and his tweaks at the plate, Kepler’s lauded talent are starting to shine through. There is legit upside in his bat, his 51 XBH in 2017 spoke to the potential, and now it seems that he is taking that to the next level as he matures.
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Fantasy owners should be all over Kepler as a waiver wire add. We were willing to look at Kepler as a fantasy breakout pick last season, and he now looks even more polished in his second season. Make the move to add him.