Freshmaker
Arbitration Eligible
Full article requires Insider access. Here's the blurb on Freddie
http://www.espn.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post?id=15474
1. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
He was hitting .242 on June 12 last season, and then Freeman had an epiphany, because of timing or circumstance. He was not going to swing at bad pitches anymore; he was going to swing at strikes. It was the sort of thing all hitters say to themselves all the time, but for Freeman, the commitment to discipline remained the rest of the season, and he wrecked pitchers. Freeman hit .340 after June 12, with 33 doubles, five triples and 25 homers, an OPS of 1.104, and because of this surge, Freeman finished sixth in the NL MVP voting despite playing on a team that wasn't in contention last season. Evaluators regard him as a solid defender –- maybe not at the level of Anthony Rizzo or Eric Hosmer, but pretty good.
Among all first basemen last season, Freeman was the runaway winner in fWAR:
Freeman -- 6.1
Rizzo -- 5.2
Votto -- 5.0
Miguel Cabrera -- 4.9
"He was a monster offensive player in a tough hitter's park, playing most of the year with almost nobody else in his lineup," said one evaluator.
If you ranked the first basemen according to their career resumes, Freeman would be at No. 5, among the top five. If you ranked them according to the trajectory established in 2016, and what they could be expected to produce in 2017, then Freeman is No. 1.
http://www.espn.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post?id=15474
1. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
He was hitting .242 on June 12 last season, and then Freeman had an epiphany, because of timing or circumstance. He was not going to swing at bad pitches anymore; he was going to swing at strikes. It was the sort of thing all hitters say to themselves all the time, but for Freeman, the commitment to discipline remained the rest of the season, and he wrecked pitchers. Freeman hit .340 after June 12, with 33 doubles, five triples and 25 homers, an OPS of 1.104, and because of this surge, Freeman finished sixth in the NL MVP voting despite playing on a team that wasn't in contention last season. Evaluators regard him as a solid defender –- maybe not at the level of Anthony Rizzo or Eric Hosmer, but pretty good.
Among all first basemen last season, Freeman was the runaway winner in fWAR:
Freeman -- 6.1
Rizzo -- 5.2
Votto -- 5.0
Miguel Cabrera -- 4.9
"He was a monster offensive player in a tough hitter's park, playing most of the year with almost nobody else in his lineup," said one evaluator.
If you ranked the first basemen according to their career resumes, Freeman would be at No. 5, among the top five. If you ranked them according to the trajectory established in 2016, and what they could be expected to produce in 2017, then Freeman is No. 1.
