Jared Walsh

Walsh had a strong first full season in the majors in 2021 with 29 homers, 98 RBI and an .849 OPS, but he cratered last year and posted a .215/.269/.374 slash line. He also required surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome and missed the final month of the season, though it's unclear how much the injury affected his 2022 production. The first baseman's strikeout rate spiked to 30.4 percent, while his walk rate fell to 6.0 percent. Pitchers attacked the strikezone more against him last year, and his contact rate dropped more than two percentage points. He was expected to provide some lineup protection for Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani but instead regressed significantly. The offseason acquisitions of Gio Urshela, Hunter Renfroe and Brandon Drury significantly cloud Walsh's outlook for 2023 as he doesn't have a clear path to an everyday role with everyone healthy.

Walsh had his coming-out party in 2020 with nine homers in 32 games. He kept the power production going into 2021, but how he got to those stats changed quite a bit. His strikeout rate nearly doubled from 13.9% to 26.0%. The 26% is more in line with his minor-league numbers. He was able to maintain a similar batting average (.293 vs. .277) by raising his BABIP from .256 to .335. While he's an acceptable hitter, it would be nice if he could lower his 48.3 GB% and thereby generate a few more home runs (see Vlad Jr.). Walsh is a nice fall-back option at first base. He may not have the 50-homer upside of some other first basemen, but his batting average (.271 for his career) is not a drag.

Walsh struggled out of the gate last season, going 0-for-10 before an Aug. 3 demotion to alternate camp. Upon returning to the big club nearly four weeks later, the first baseman opened eyes around the league -- and in fantasy circles -- with a dominant finish during which he slashed .326/.357/.719 with nine home runs in 98 PA. Walsh's much-hyped power was on full display as he led all big-league hitters who logged at least 100 PA with an overall .354 ISO and ranked second with a .646 SLG. What's more, he was rarely fooled at the plate, posting a superb 13.9 K%. A glance at Walsh's minor-league stats suggests that the contact numbers are likely to regress, but the power is legitimate. He'll have to cede the occasional start to Albert Pujols for one more season, but Walsh could be a draft-day steal if he's able to carry his September magic into 2021.

Shohei Ohtani is not the only slugger in the Angels organization to double as a pitcher. Walsh has shown legitimate potential as a lefty reliever over the past two seasons, compiling a 3.38 ERA and 7.7 K/9 in 18.2 innings at three minor-league levels and holding his own in five major-league innings in 2019. Walsh's ability to pitch is a unique twist to his status as a power-hitting first-base prospect. Since 2018, he has racked up 65 home runs and 185 RBI while batting .298 in the minors. Though he struggled to make contact (40.2 K%, 68.8 Contact%) during his first taste of the big leagues last season, Walsh did flash power with a 54.5% hard-hit rate and 91.3 mph average exit velocity. Walsh is likely to be a platoon player in 2020 with Albert Pujols still in the picture, but if he is able to reduce his strikeout rate and utilize his raw power, he could force his way into more playing time.