Devers will hit 30+ homers
Rafael Devers has hit 31 home runs combined through his first two seasons in the majors but could reach that total in 2019.
After belting 10 homers in an abbreviated rookie season, Devers more than doubled that total with 21 last year. The natural progression of this pace would assume he reaches 30 this year, right? See, that was easy.
Not so fast. Devers hit more than twice as many home runs in his Sophomore campaign but it took him more than twice as many games to do it. He played in only 58 games as a rookie but 121 last year. There aren’t 242 games on the regular season schedule so obviously, we can’t use the same methodology to project this year’s total.
The prediction of 30+ homers is based on the expected improvement from the 22-year old, who showed up to camp in excellent shape this spring.
While last year was considered a down year compared to his promising rookie season, Devers still showed what he can do when he makes solid contact. His 41.4 Hard Hit Percentage ranked in the 72nd percentile and his 90.7 Exit Velocity was in the 84th percentile, according to Statcast data provided by Baseball Savant. Devers also registered a 116.3 mph Max Exit Velocity that ranked 15th in the majors last season.
Devers showed impressive power potential throughout his minor league career and projects to be a legitimate power threat some day. This year might be a bit ahead of schedule but he’s certainly capable of exceeding expectations.