Jake Cave

31-Year-Old OutfielderOF

Free Agent

2024 Stats

AVG

.251

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

Cave entered last season as a 30-year-old without much of a major-league track record but nonetheless earned an Opening Day start in left field for the defending National League champions. Cave spent April on the strong side of a platoon for the Phillies but was sent down at the start of May after hitting .222/.286/.333 in 70 trips to the plate. He returned to play a part-time role throughout the second half, but his 207/.265/.355 slash line in a further 133 plate appearances wasn't meaningfully different. That means he enters this season as a 31-year-old without much of a major-league track record, and the odds of him doing something fantasy-relevant with whatever role he earns this season seem slim. He's flashed a bit of power at times in his career but managed a modest 34.8 percent hard hit rate last season. That pairs poorly with his elevated strikeout rate, which came in at 27.1 percent last year and 31.4 percent for his career. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

Rest of Season

From Preseason

#361

ADP

Bats L

Throws L

40 Man No

Height 6'0"

Weight 200

DOB 12/4/1992

Born Hampton, VA

College None

Drafted 6th Rd 2011 NYY

Becomes free agent

OFFree Agent

October 18, 2024

Cave elected free agency Friday.

ANALYSIS
Cave has exercised his right to free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to the minors by the Rockies. The veteran outfielder slashed .251/.290/.396 with seven home runs over 123 games for Colorado this season.

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Batting Stats

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2024 MLB Game Log

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2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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2018 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2022

+75%

OPS vs RHP

2024

+288%

OPS vs RHP

2023

+70%

OPS vs RHP

2022

+4%

OPS vs LHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.402	108	4	0	9	3	.165	.189	.214
Since 2022vs Right	.703	618	73	17	69	7	.243	.293	.410
2024vs Left	.195	42	2	0	4	0	.098	.098	.098
2024vs Right	.756	304	40	7	33	5	.273	.316	.440
2023vs Left	.391	33	1	0	1	1	.138	.219	.172
2023vs Right	.663	170	17	5	20	2	.226	.282	.381
2022vs Left	.667	33	1	0	4	2	.273	.273	.394
2022vs Right	.639	144	16	5	16	0	.198	.257	.382
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2022

+11%

OPS at Home

2024

+11%

OPS at Home

2023

+12%

OPS on Road

2022

+35%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.692	354	40	9	41	4	.238	.286	.405
Since 2022Away	.625	372	37	8	37	6	.224	.270	.356
2024Home	.722	177	22	4	21	2	.256	.301	.421
2024Away	.649	169	20	3	16	3	.245	.278	.371
2023Home	.582	89	9	2	7	1	.188	.270	.313
2023Away	.649	114	9	3	14	2	.231	.274	.375
2022Home	.737	88	9	3	13	1	.250	.273	.464
2022Away	.547	89	8	2	7	1	.175	.247	.300
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Stat Review

How does Jake Cave compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.18

BB Rate

5.2%

K Rate

28.3%

BABIP

.335

ISO

.146

AVG

.251

OBP

.290

SLG

.396

OPS

.686

wOBA

.299

Exit Velocity

87.5 mph

Hard Hit Rate

33.2%

Barrels/PA

3.5%

Expected BA

.233

Expected SLG

.357

Sprint Speed

24.1 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

45.8%

Line Drive %

25.6%

Fly Ball %

28.6%

Prospect Rankings History

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

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Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Jake Cave See More

Lineup Lowdown: National League

52 days ago

Ozzie Albies has temporarily given up switch hitting after returning from a broken left hand, but he's Atlanta's No. 2 hitter against both righties and lefties nonetheless.

Weekly Hitter Rankings: Last Ups

55 days ago

Ryan McMahon and the Rockies finish the season with six straight home games.

The Z Files: What It Takes

73 days ago

Todd Zola provides some data to help you determine whether even Aaron Judge is capable of slugging your team into contention over the season's final stretch.

Weekly Hitter Rankings: Raise the Jolly Roger

76 days ago

Bryan Reynolds and the Pirates top Todd Zola’s hitter rankings for the week of September 2 to September 8.

MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Wednesday, August 28

79 days ago

Wednesday's top MLB DFS options on FanDuel include Manny Machado as the Padres take on the Cardinals.

Past Fantasy Outlooks

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

Cave's five-year run in the majors with the Twins came to an end in October of 2022, as he was designated for assignment and claimed by the Orioles. Entering his age-30 season, there's little expectation that he'll be more than a strong-side platoon option at best. He's a career .235 hitter with a .708 OPS, and he's trended downward from there after a serviceable first two seasons. The Orioles are pretty well set in the outfield for starters, reserves and potential prospect challengers, so Cave's likely to begin the year at Triple-A Norfolk. It's safe to pass on the outfielder in fantasy since he's likely no more than an injury replacement in-season.

Cave recorded a 106 wRC+ across the first three years of his MLB career but stumbled to a 49 wRC+ last season, the product of a .189/.249/.293 slash line. The Twins gave him several chances to win a platoon role, but he could never capitalize before really struggling last season. He could return to his former level as a passable part-time outfielder role, but he has a modest ceiling to pair with a low floor. He'll compete for a reserve role with the Twins again this spring, but likely adds depth at Triple-A.

After a career-best season at the plate in 2019, Cave struggled in 2020, hitting just .221 with a .674 OPS and 82 wRC+. His walk rate declined (4.1%) sharply and his strikeouts increased (35.8%), leading to slumps like a 1-for-23 stretch in late July. Cave can play all three outfield positions (82nd percentile for Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant) and has above-average speed (74th percentile sprint speed, per Statcast). He previously drew walks at a decent clip and makes hard contact, so he could bounce back if he can reduce his strikeouts. He may also fit better as a platoon option given his struggles against left-handed pitching (.548 OPS vs. lefties last season). He'll try to win a reserve role again this spring.

Cave proved to be a valuable reserve outfielder for the Twins as he was pressed into regular duty in the second half due to injuries and responded with an .806 OPS and eight home runs in 76 games. Cave can play all three outfield positions, but is challenged to be more than a spot starter in center field (-3 DRS in CF). He draws walks at a decent clip and makes hard contact. However, a high strikeout rate (31.1 K%) can get him in trouble. He may also fit better as a platoon option given his .732 OPS vs. left-handed pitchers. He'll try to win a reserve role again this spring, and again likely needs an injury to one of the three primary outfielders or to the DH, Nelson Cruz, in order to get regular at-bats.

Cave was blocked in the minors with the Yankees, but found new life and a path to the majors with the Twins. He hit .265/.313/.473 with 13 home runs in 91 games, getting an extensive trial as a starter late in the season. However, his .363 BABIP, 23.2% HR/FB and 33.0 K% did not back up his surface stats. Cave can play all three outfield positions, but would be challenged to be more than a spot starter in center field. He showed decent power in the upper levels of the minors, with strikeout percentages in the mid-20s, but has typically been old for his level. Cave could profile on the strong side of a platoon, as he hit .287/.335/.509 with a slightly better strikeout rate (30.8%) against righties while posting just a .642 OPS against lefties. Unfortunately, Cave will likely need an injury to one of the three primary outfielders or to the DH, Nelson Cruz, in order to get regular at-bats.

More Fantasy News

Sitting in second straight

OFColorado Rockies

September 25, 2024

Cave is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.