Boston Red Sox Pablo Sandoval: Bounce Back Panda?
By Bill Pivetz
Pablo Sandoval disappointed many fantasy owners in his first season with Boston. Can the Kung Fu Panda bounce back and be a top third baseman again?
The Boston Red Sox built an offense during the 2014 offseason that should have competed as the best in the league. They signed multiple star free agents, but they didn’t pan out. It turned out that their young prospects were the better fantasy options. One of those star free agents was third baseman Pablo Sandoval. He was projected to do well in his new home, but failed those expectations. Can he recover in 2016?
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In seven years with the San Francisco Giants, he hit .294 with 106 home runs and 462 RBI. He was never a big strikeout batter, averaging a .52 BB/K ratio and .346 on-base percentage. After the 2014 season, he decided to take the big contract and move to the American League East.
Pablo Sandoval was drafted in the 11th round, 105.3 ADP as the 10th third baseman taken. He ended the season ranked outside the top-500 players on the Player Rater. He played in just 126 games, hitting 10 home runs, 47 RBI and .245. He had a .34 BB/K ratio, the lowest since his rookie season.
His 5.0 walk and 14.5 strikeout rates were the worst of his career. He wasn’t making good contact with the ball, 24.5 hard hit rate and 29.8 pull rate. I could keep going but to sum up, 2015 was the worst hitting season of his career. Taking into account his ADP and previous seasons, I named Sandoval as my least valuable fantasy player.
According to the Player Rater, he wasn’t even the best third baseman on his own team. Brock Holt and Travis Shaw, two part-time third basemen, finished ahead of him.
There was nothing that could have predicting this kind of drop off from 2014 to 2015. Pablo Sandoval didn’t change positions, like Hanley Ramirez, and Fenway Park was more of a hitter’s back than AT&T Park in both 2014 and 2015. He did not miss more than three games in a row, so it wasn’t an injury. He even played in a double-header after the All-Star break. I don’t see any indicators of a drop off.
Next: Dustin Pedroia: Is The Show Over in 2016?
With Opening Day just two months away, many experts do not have Pablo Sandoval ranked or if they do, he’s outside the top 250. I have a higher hopes than that, but cannot advocate drafting him within the top 200. He is my No. 18 third baseman, but that could change when I publish my rankings later this month. With this being David Ortiz‘s final season, I hope Sandoval can pull himself out of the season-long slump and be his 2014 self.
Projections: 135 hits, 13 home runs, 65 RBI, .270 average
Draft: 23