Jorge Polanco Fantasy Baseball Analysis

Falling just short of a .300 batting average in 2019, Jorge Polanco was solid at the plate with 100 runs and 22 home-runs.

Falling just short of a .300 batting average in 2019, Jorge Polanco was solid at the plate with 100 runs and 22 home-runs. In fact, his .296 batting average was his best since 2015. Heading into the 2020 season, Polanco is falling to the later rounds in fantasy baseball drafts as the 147th player and No. 21 shortstop according to the latest Average Draft Position data. 

Sports Illustrated’s fantasy baseball analysts Shawn Childs and Jaime Eisner discussed if drafting Polanco is a smart or dumb move in the above video. 

Read the full transcript from their conversation here:

Corey Parson: Fantasy baseball owners rejoice! The season could be starting shortly. If you haven't already drafted your team, well, now it's time for us to give you some information. Today, I want to talk about Minnesota Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco. Joining me to help do that is SI fantasy and gaming analyst Shawn Childs and Jaime Eisner. Shawn, I'll start with you on this one: what is your outlook for Jorge Polanco this upcoming season?

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Shawn Childs: He had a real interesting season last year. He set career highs across the board. The only thing he fell short on was in steals and really his minor league resume. He hasn't set a high bar in that area. Coming into last year, he missed 80 games for a suspension here before. So he kind of outperformed his ADP by a lot, 40 doubles, 22 home runs. His RBI rate is really over 15 every season. He's kind of a clutch hitter, but he's got a skill set of a No. 2 hitter if he can add a few more steals. I like his average hit rate. It's improving where he's probably can push over 20 home runs again and his contact batting average reports pushed towards like 300. So he's a steady guy, his homerun rates are improving. There is a lot to like about him but he doesn't fall into the impact area. He's worth value if he falls in drafts.

Corey Parson: Jaime, Draft-or-Pass on Jorge Polanco?

Twins/Twitter

Jaime Eisner: I'm drafting him right now. He's going just outside the top 20 shortstops. I'd have him closer to like that 16 range. He's a great player to stick in your middle infield slot if you already have some speed on your team. You know, part of the reason why it's such a low total in steals last year is he just flat out stopped stealing bases in the second half of the year. He had zero attempts. So little tough to steal bases we don't even try. Given the power in that lineup and the fact that he's going to be likely hitting in front of Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson, I understand why the twins might not want to run themselves out of a beginning. He's a four-category guy. He should be over a pro-rated version of 20 home runs again. I don't think he's going to be a 100 plus run type of contributor, but he has really been sensational since coming back from that PED suspension in July of 2018.

Corey Parson: All right. Thanks a lot, fellas. For all the latest news, information on fantasy baseball, make sure you keep a locked right on SI.com.

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