25 – My problem with the OF is that it has only Fowler for veteran presence. He’s been far less than average. And Bader and O’Neill
had K rates of 29% and 35% last year. I wish I shared your enthusiasm for those two players. I’m putting hopes on Thomas,
Dean, Williams, and Carlson.
Veterans are only useful if they’re still decent players. While the Ks are a concern, it should be noted that O’Neill’s K% did improve some as he got regular playing time. It still wasn’t great, but you can accept some strikeouts if he’s producing the kind of power he does. I’d still caution against using a small MLB sample size to make too many judgments. Based on all his numbers, he looks like a plus defender who will hit .260 with an OK walk rate (7-8%), a 25-28% K rate and 30+ HRs. That’s basically Ozuna with a few more Ks and better defense.
As for Bader, the glove plays but he has to hit better, to be sure. If he’s slightly below average hitting, he’s a very good starter in CF. I think last year got away from him and that’s what he’ll be this year.
I don’t think Dean or Williams will amount to anything at the MLB level besides filler, Thomas will be a good backup and Carlson will be an occasional All Star type guy (OF version of Carpenter, perhaps).