ESPN's Dan Szymborski is a computer and stat guru, and we love getting a look at his projections. Here are his numbers for the 2014 Texas Rangers.
Position: Second base
Player: Jurickson Profar
Last year: .234 batting average, .308 on-base percentage, .336 slugging percentage, 6 home runs, 26 RBIs, 324 plate appearances
2014 projections: .261/.330/.406, 14 home runs, 57 RBIs, 557 plate appearances
Oh, Jurickson Profar. This is one of the bigger wild cards, or X-factors, if you prefer, regarding the Rangers' season this year. The 21-year-old will get his first crack at a full-time gig after floating around the diamond last year in a utility role, when he struggled mightily to find a groove as the game's top prospect.
So far this spring, Profar has been great. But then again, it's spring ball. He leads the team in home runs, RBIs and is hitting .306 with a .375 on-base percentage. Ian Kinsler had his flaws as an offensive player, but the Rangers could likely see some significant drop-off in production from second base with Profar there instead of him. Or maybe Profar grows up quicker than we all think and puts up a solid season? Who knows? It'd sure be nice.
