Jose Iglesias improving at the plate with Rockies
Jose Iglesias is having an unexpected bounce-back season at the plate and provides managers a strong option when facing left-handed pitching.
Video Transcript
- Jose Iglesias is known far more for his defense than his offense. And he's never been much of a fantasy contributor outside of that small sample size outburst with the Orioles during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. But the rangy veteran shortstop signed a one-year $5 million contract with the Rockies this past March, and he has unlocked something at the plate in his new digs.
No, he's not going to provide much, if any, power, but Iglesias is currently top-20 among all Major League hitters in batting average. And he's top-10 if you narrow the batting average leaderboard down to just the National League. The initial instinct might be that this is all Coors Field-related. It is, after all, the most hitter-friendly home environment in the majors.
But Iglesias has actually been far better on the road than in the thin air and spacey surface area dimensions in Colorado. His lefty-righty splits are also rather drastic. He has a .344 batting average, an .844 OPS against left-handed pitching, compared to a .280 average and .663 OPS versus righties.
So in weeks where the Rockies line up to face a string of southpaws, and for fantasy managers that need to play catch up in the batting average department, Iglesias suddenly looks quite useful.
