Last year, Manuel Margot hit 16 homers and stole 21 bags, while hitting .263. *you checking Manuel Margot player page, you furrowing your brow* A 23-year-old with 16 homers and 21 steals while not killing you in average and being drafted after 200 overall? Huh? *you tentatively raising your hand* You, “Um, Grey.” Not right now, I’m making a point. Is he being artificially deflated by the association with the Padres? Knowing the Padres, he’ll be traded to the Cubs for Andrew Cashner. *you holding your elbow as your arm gets tired from being raised* “Grey, can I just say one thing?” What, you? Smugly, “He only hit 13 homers and stole 17 bases.” That’s right, in only 126 games, I was prorating his numbers over the course of the season, so eat a D, Smug You. This was also his rookie year. What, no player has ever gotten better after their rookie year? Maybe not Cody Bellinger or Aaron Judge or Ben Grieve, but most do get better after their rookie year. So, what can we expect from Manuel Margot for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
While Manuel Margot was in the Red Sox minor league system (hey, these Rizzo comparisons keep happening; maybe he will get traded to the Cubs), he stole 39 bases one year. Yes, that was A-Ball, where catchers don’t throw to 2nd, they run the ball out to 2nd base on steal attempts. Last year, Margot was also caught seven times in 24 attempts. Not the greatest stealing percentage, but have you seen him? No? Okay, here’s your chance:
Doode’s not slow. (By the way, gotta love Yoenis’ route to the ball, jump on the 405 to the 110 next time.) That leads me to think he just needs to figure out how to steal. Why am I making such a big deal out of watching this M. Mar go? Have you seen what’s currently going on with steals in the league? SAGNOF, sure, but to SAGNOF for steals correctly, you need to find cheap steals. Well, that’s where Margot comes in, which reminds me of Margot At The Wedding, which was the worst movie of the last ten years. The Padres have no reason to put the brakes on Margot, and who else do they have to bat at the top of the order? Margot could be a super cheap 15/30/.275 guy at the top of a ‘major league’ lineup. Also, in 66 2nd half games, he hit eight of his homers. Also, Part 2: The Revenge Of Also, in the 2nd half, his Ks went down, his walks went up, his stealing percentage went up (7 steals, only caught once) and his line drive percentage went up. Hey, you with the hair that isn’t quite as full as mine, I WANT MANUEL MARGOT NOW! That’s right, brought the caps for all you nearsighted schmohawks. For 2018, I’ll give Manuel Margot the projections of 86/17/42/.266/27 in 561 ABs with a chance for more.
