CJ Abrams was a talented prospect with a ton of hype in San Diego, but when called up to join the club, he struggled, and was eventually a key part of the trade package sent to Washington for superstar Juan Soto. For the majority of this season, Abrams has struggled at the dish, and quickly went from one of the most popular waiver wire additions in fantasy baseball, to one of the most popular drops a period of time later. However, since being traded to Washington, the path to playing time opened up immensely, and he’s starting to get more comfortable, showcasing all of those tools that had him as one of the game’s top prospects. Can he be a difference maker down the stretch in your efforts for a fantasy baseball championship? He very well could be, and he’s also a name to keep in mind for the 2023 season, despite where he will be ranked in many 2023 fantasy baseball preseason rankings.

 


In 46 games with the Padres this season, he slashed just .232/.285/.320 with two home runs and one stolen base. Since joining the Nationals, he’s slashed .214/.247/.257 in 20 games. Sure, that isn’t winning any fantasy baseball leagues, but the potential and talent is there. Abrams was a first round pick back in 2019 out of high school, and at the Triple-A level this season, he slashed .310/.360/.480 with seven home runs, six doubles, and 14 stolen bases. He did this at the Triple-A level at 21 years old with just 162 at-bats above Single-A prior to this season! He’s still incredibly raw and developing, so it’s natural that there are growing pains with Abrams. One could argue that he’s stuck in a “Quad-A” situation, in that he’s too good for Triple-A, but he hasn’t cut it in the MLB. However, again, 21 years young, people!

Abrams just had a four-hit game the other night, and it appears that he’s getting a bit more comfortable. Yes, the overall stats over his last eight games are better, namely his .346 average, .393 OBP, and .462 SLG, but it goes much, much deeper than that. The peripherals are encouraging, and the numbers indicate a maturation within the batter’s box, and a heightened level of command within those white lines.

 

Games

O-Swing%

Contact%

Swing%

SwStr%

wOBA

SDP

46

44.9%

77.1%

56.0%

12.8%

.270

WSH (8/15-8/28)

12

43.4%

75.3%

57.8%

14.3%

.134

WSH (8/30-9/6)

8

34.9%

86.0%

56.2%

7.9%

.374

Courtesy of FanGraphs

The quicker he can command the batter’s box and strike zone like he showed in the minors, the sooner we will see his stat line be indicative of his prospect status. He never walked a ton in the minors, so I don’t expect a lofty walk rate, so he likely figures to be a better asset in leagues that value batting average compared to on-base percentage. Alas, albeit a small eight game sample size, some of the plate discipline metrics are incredibly encouraging, as Washington needs a guy like Abrams to get on base and wreak havoc on the base paths.

In deeper fantasy baseball formats, with the way Abrams is seeing the ball at the moment, he’s worth picking up for the stretch run of the fantasy baseball season. In shallower formats, there are likely better options than Abrams, but the 2023 fantasy baseball season should be a good one for Abrams, if given the opportunity. While he’s primarily played shortstop for Washington, the team could opt to sign a marquee free agent to play shortstop, so Abrams could slide to second base or somewhere in the outfield, but he’ll at least head into next season with dual-eligibility, which is a nice bonus.

The speed is legit with Abrams and he should develop into a guy with at least average power. The hit tool should be solid, and should provide a decent source of batting average in the future. If he can reach his full potential, we could be looking at a perennial member of at least the 10/20 club, and like a floor of a .270ish batting average. The upside though is far greater than that. While he can be serviceable down the stretch this fantasy baseball season, the best is yet to come, and as of today, CJ Abrams looks to be someone I’ll be actively targeting in 2023 fantasy baseball drafts.

Statistical Credits:

fangraphs.com

baseballsavant.mlb.com

 

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