National League designated hitter, Part 2: The most impacted hitters

Baseball. Is. Back. Or, at least we hope it’s back. Teams are reporting to their home fields in hope of ramping up for a 60-game sprint for the 2020 MLB season. During these wild and crazy times, we may have some baseball starting the third week of July.

I broke down what baseball’s move to universal DH means for pitchers in a piece already, so this is the follow-up. Let’s explore three National League teams that could see the largest bump due to adding an extra hitter to their lineups.

Washington Nationals: Howie Kendrick and Eric Thames

The 2019 World Series champion not only sports one veteran hitter who should be primed for a big 2020, but also a second wily player who could go bonkers in this format. Let’s take a peek at what both Kendrick and Thames are projected for using Ariel Cohen’s ATC projections:

With Ryan Zimmerman announcing his intentions to sit out the 2020 season, these numbers (in terms of raw plate appearances) seem a bit light, currently suggesting players who are far from a full-time job. The counting numbers for both should see a bump with Zimmerman’s absence.

Starting with the latter, Thames sports an impressive double-digit walk rate in every major league stop of his career. Where he may be light on batting average, he offers plenty of pop and gets the benefit (just like Kendrick) of hitter-friendly interleague environments in the AL East.

If your roster needs a larger emphasis on batting average insulation, Kendrick is your man. He sports a career .294 batting average and has topped .300 or greater in each of his last three seasons. He also ripped 17 homers in only 370 plate appearances a season ago.

The best part? In a 12-team format, these players are free. Kendrick’s current ADP may rise, but it’s very late (371.63, Round 26), and Thames was going undrafted (453.58). Take a long look at both players.

Cincinnati Reds: Jesse Winker

Even prior to signing Nicholas Castellanos this offseason, the Reds were a crowded group in the outfield, with Winker, Nick Senzel, Aristedes Aquino and Shogo Akiyama.

But a funny thing happened along the way—  the Reds announced that Aquino, a darling of the 2019 season with plenty of pop, isn’t headed to Great American Ballpark with what appears to be a clean shot to make the Major League roster starting in late July.

This trickle-down effect likely locks Winker into significant playing time either in a corner outfield or DH slot with Akiyama manning center. Winker and his career 11.9% walk rate, like the Nationals players above, has a virtually nonexistent opportunity cost (ADP: 446.72). His projection of six home runs could be very light if he can crack 200 plate appearances.

And don’t sleep on the impact of this division on Reds hitters — the NL Central is an extremely poor-pitching division. The Reds (4.10) and Cubs (4.29) are the only two teams in the top-10 in terms of xFIP without any notable arms being added to the starting rotation.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Joc Pederson

There’s no better team to fully take advantage of situational matchups and this designated hitter than the Dodgers. It’s Joc Pederson season, y’all.

In five full major league seasons, Pederson has already smashed 123 home runs in the last five years with a .242 isolated power mark. The knock has always been that Pederson can’t hit lefties, and frankly, that’s not an unfair criticism when we look at his career stats:

Against right-handed pitching, Pederson is one of the game’s elite hitters — a home run nearly every 18 plate appearances, a wRC+ mark of 135 (league average: 100), and an .860 OPS.

He’s also going to likely occupy the fifth spot in the lineup according to Roster Resource, behind an impressive grouping of Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger. The opportunity to drive in runs should be plentiful and Pederson will have plenty of chances to be fantasy relevant.