Dodgers: Four players that are set to regress in 2018

Yasmani Grandal

Is it just me, or does it feel like Yasmani Grandal has been vastly overrated by not only Dodger fans but the front office the last few years? Grandal is pretty good with the glove behind the plate and has some pop in his swing, but aside from that, there’s seemingly nothing but negatives around Grandal and his production.

Grandal is the exact same player mold as Joc Pederson; swing it fast and swing it hard. Both Grandal and Pederson exhibit batting averages in the low .200s (Grandal: .247, Pederson: .212) but can smash a baseball when they get ahold of it. Sure, .247 is a lot better than .212, but the career batting averages of both men vary by just 18 points.

Grandal gets to keep his every day starting job while Pederson is reduced to a bench player and was even sent down to AAA OKC. As backward as this is, the Dodgers front office may have finally realized they have a better option in Austin Barnes.

Barnes is by far a much more consistent hitter than Grandal. Although Barnes will never hit as many home runs as Grandal, Barnes has showcased the ability to hit both left-handed and right-handed pitching and to do so in the high .200s.

Grandal does have the fielding edge, but that will not be enough to get more playing time in 2018 than Austin Barnes. Due to the reduced playing time, we will see a natural dip in Grandal’s overall power production; which realistically is his only offensive production, to begin with.