He has a below-average arm and isn't the most fluid second baseman, but he has worked hard to improve his defensive footwork at the keystone, and the Rays have already begun moving around the outfield so as to increase his versatility.Though Solak is athletic and quick, he doesn't have an obvious defensive home. The remaining $36 million on his contract through 2022 (including the buyout of his 2023 club option) makes him nearly immovable. They are open to him winning the starting job there. His batted ball profile throughout the minors and in his brief stint in the majors skewed too heavily toward groundball contact.
With an average exit velocity and barrel rate just above league average, that home run rate doesn’t seem sustainable.The Rangers entered this offseason in a unique position.
November 14, 2019. But after going deep just five times in three years at Louisville, he has boosted his home run output from 12 to 19 to 32 in three full pro seasons. He’s always been able to hit, compiling a .294/.383/.468 slash line in the minor leagues, good for a combined 138 wRC+.
The veteran guys, the young guys. His good speed helped him hold his own in the outfield and that added positional flexibility could be the key to seeing playing time in 2020.FanGraphs does not have a paywall. Even if the Rangers add a third baseman via free agency, they could justifiably add another two or three high-quality players to the mix. Stop stealing our stuff and ripping off our features, please.To get the full benefits of numberFire, please sign up.Texas Rangers utility option Nick Solak is starting on Wednesday afternoon versus left-hander Madison Bumgarner and the Arizona Diamondbacks.You'll get the best projections in the business!
There are very few guarantees on the roster right now and a lot of potential moving pieces. 01/31/2019: Tampa Bay Rays invited non-roster 2B Nick Solak to spring training.
A high BABIP paired with a high strikeout rate and a sudden burst of power screams regression. If Santana is used as a utility infielder, Frazier would likely only have to slide across to first against left-handed pitching.“I’ve been a captain before and one captain is great, but 26 are better. Danny is so good at moving around. And he likes it. July 13, 2019: 2B Nick Solak assigned to Nashville Sounds. His experience in the outfield in Triple-A could make him an option as a utilityman, but his bat looks too good to be relegated to a part-time role.With a swing geared towards line-drive contact, he may have to make a few adjustments to generate consistent lift to continue hitting for power. His right-handed swing is geared for stroking line drives from gap to gap, an approach that results in consistent contact but doesn't provide much power.
He manages the strike zone well and consistently puts together good at-bats, employing a selectively aggressive approach that fuels his ability to hit for average and also get on base at a high clip. He was projected to be an average second baseman, but because the Rays had an overabundance of infield prospects, he saw some time in the outfield in 2019.