2010 Profile: Ben Zobrist

After a stellar .297-91-27-91-17 season (at multiple positions) which made Ben Zobrist a household fantasy name, what can we expect from him next year? Zobrist has always been a good hitter in the minor leagues, but 2009 came as pretty much a universal surprise. After a career year like that, it’s important to have realistic expectations going forward.

Zobrist’s season was buoyed by a .330 BABIP, a strong 17.5% HR/FB rate as well as a generous 15.4% walk rate. He feasted on fastballs, curves and just about everything else; pitchers couldn’t figure out how to get this guy out. All of that combined to make him worth almost four wins above average on offense, and that’s before you figure his excellent defense. Since changing his approach to be more patient at the plate, Zobrist has maintained that healthy HR/FB rate over more than 800 PA spanning 2008-2009, so there’s good reason to believe the power is real. A contact rate of 81.8% and strikeout rate of 20.8% suggest that the batting average is likely to slip quite a bit.

With the recent trade of Akinori Iwamura to the Pirates, the Tampa Bay Rays have all but written his name into the starting lineup as their second baseman. He will be plenty valuable at that position for 2010, and we project him at something like .261-81-22-81-15 over 591 PA.