Giancarlo Stanton showing off league-winning potential
NBC Sports EDGE's Colin Henderson lays out how good Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton has been in 2021, but wonders if managers should sell high now.
Video Transcript
COLIN HENDERSON: There's no hotter hitter in baseball right now than Giancarlo Stanton. The Mammoth designated hitter knocked in the game winning run on Sunday to cap off a special Fortnite which has raised the slash line to 292, 356, 558, along with 9 homers, 24 RBIs, and 16 runs scored entering Monday. Over his past 15 games, Stanton is perhaps having his best stretch since coming over to the Yankees, batting 413 with 26 hits, including 6 homers and 12 RBIs.
He currently has a career high hard hit percentage of nearly 65%, an average exit velocity of nearly 99 miles per hour, and has already barreled up almost as many balls this year-- 15-- as he has in the last two seasons combined-- 18. Meanwhile, his strikeout percentage is the lowest it's been since his MVP 2017 season. When you dive into the metrics, the numbers look even better as he's in the 94th percentile in barrel percentage, the 95th percentile in expected slugging, and the 82nd percentile in expected batting average, all while leading the Majors in average exit velocity.
While Stanton's power has never been questioned, his ability to stay healthy certainly has as he has only played in 41 regular season games over the past two seasons. By not playing the field, the Yankees are hoping that this season will be different. Smart fantasy managers who are weary of a spotty medical history may want to see how much they can get for him now that his stock may never be higher. However, those who do sell high on Stan risk losing a player that, if he can remain healthy, could be a guy who wins you your league after being drafted just outside the top 100.
