Paul DeJong

31-Year-Old ShortstopSS

Free Agent

2024 Stats

AVG

.227

RBI

2025 Projections

AVG

RBI

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2025 Fantasy Outlook

The veteran infielder joined the White Sox on a one-year deal in November of 2023, and he was unsurprisingly shipped out at the trade deadline. DeJong was similarly productive with both Chicago and Kansas City, finishing with 24 home runs, a 32.4 percent strikeout rate and .227/.276/.427 slash line in 139 total games. He saw significant action at third base for the first time in his big-league career, though he still had most of his playing time at shortstop, especially prior to the trade. DeJong's defense at shortstop has long been lauded, but he produced minus-nine Defensive Runs Saved and minus-one Outs Above Average playing there in 2024, compared to a plus-one DRS and plus-five OAA at third base. Teams could view him as more of a third baseman than shortstop as a result, which would decrease his value a bit since shortstop is the more valuable position for his power. DeJong isn't likely to land a regular role with any contending teams this winter, but he could again carve out some playing time on a rebuilding club with the potential of being traded once again. His upside is limited beyond the home runs, and he's likely to be a drag in batting average. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

From Preseason

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man No

Height 6'1"

Weight 195

DOB 8/2/1993

Drafted 4th Rd 2015

Losing out on playing time

SSKansas City Royals

September 16, 2024

DeJong is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers.

ANALYSIS
DeJong looks to have lost hold of a regular spot in the Kansas City infield, as he'll hit the bench against a right-handed starting pitcher (Reese Olson) for the fourth time in the last five games. Adam Frazier will enter the lineup at third base in place of DeJong, who is getting on base at a .154 clip with a 30.8 percent strikeout rate since the start of September.

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Batting Stats

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

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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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2017 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

+7%

OPS vs RHP

2024

+18%

OPS vs RHP

2023

+5%

OPS vs LHP

2022

+6%

OPS vs RHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.604	303	28	8	26	4	.196	.271	.333
Since 2022vs Right	.646	816	86	36	93	5	.209	.260	.386
2024vs Left	.621	123	15	5	12	0	.198	.260	.360
2024vs Right	.730	359	39	19	44	2	.237	.281	.449
2023vs Left	.635	119	11	3	12	1	.217	.286	.349
2023vs Right	.603	281	30	11	26	3	.203	.246	.357
2022vs Left	.508	61	2	0	2	3	.151	.262	.245
2022vs Right	.538	176	17	6	23	0	.159	.239	.299
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2022

+12%

OPS on Road

2024

+10%

OPS on Road

2023

+36%

OPS on Road

2022

+17%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.595	519	49	16	50	2	.199	.254	.341
Since 2022Away	.669	600	65	28	69	7	.211	.270	.399
2024Home	.667	232	22	9	27	1	.232	.263	.405
2024Away	.737	250	32	15	29	1	.222	.288	.449
2023Home	.510	178	19	5	14	1	.176	.225	.285
2023Away	.694	222	22	9	24	3	.232	.284	.411
2022Home	.575	109	8	2	9	0	.161	.284	.290
2022Away	.493	128	11	4	16	3	.154	.211	.282
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Stat Review

How does Paul DeJong 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

0.15

BB Rate

4.8%

K Rate

32.4%

BABIP

.285

ISO

.200

AVG

.227

OBP

.276

SLG

.427

OPS

.703

wOBA

.307

Exit Velocity

87.8 mph

Hard Hit Rate

33.3%

Barrels/PA

6.2%

Expected BA

.218

Expected SLG

.395

Sprint Speed

23.0 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

31.6%

Line Drive %

22.8%

Fly Ball %

45.6%

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

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 Paul DeJong See More

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

DeJong struggled mightily in 2023 while bouncing between three organization, hitting just .207 with a .612 OPS in 400 plate appearances with the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Giants. The veteran shortstop signed a one-year deal with the White Sox in November where he'll battle Nicky Lopez and Braden Shewmake for the starting role. The bat seems to be waning each year for DeJong, but he remains a solid defensive shortstop who ultimately may just be keeping the spot warm for top prospect Colson Montgomery's inevitable callup in 2024.

After losing the starting job at shortstop to Edmundo Sosa late in 2021, DeJong regained the job in spring training. It did not last long, however, as DeJong was sent down in May following a .130/.209/.208 start to his season. A National League All-Star in 2019, DeJong's strikeouts have climbed in recent years while his rate power has cratered, leaving the Cardinals little choice but to look for a successor. DeJong would smack 17 homers in just 51 games with Triple-A Memphis while trimming his strikeout rate 10 percentage points from his mark at the major-league level, but his struggled continued after his return to the majors. He's due north of $9 million in 2023 in the final year of the extension he signed with St. Louis in 2018. The team may eat that sunk cost outright if DeJong can't do enough in camp to convince the club he can be a capable backup around the infield.

DeJong followed up his power outage in 2020 with an equally disappointing 2021 campaign. A .216 BABIP had a lot to do with a bleak .197 batting average, but there were deeper reasons for concern. The most troubling part of DeJong's 2021 profile was a steep drop in average exit velocity, which tumbled to 86.3 mph - eighth percentile in the league. It would be tempting to blame a side injury that landed him on the injured list in mid-May, but that theory falls apart when considering that he was hitting just .177/.277/.371 across 141 plate appearances to begin the season. After splitting time with Edmundo Sosa in the final months of the campaign, and assuming the Cardinals don't make any moves to upgrade the position, DeJong should have the opportunity to earn back the starting role. However, drafting him for anything more than mediocre power with otherwise empty production would be a mistake.

DeJong provided most of his value in his first three big-league seasons by having above-average power for a shortstop, averaging just shy of 25 homers per year. That power collapsed in 2020, as he homered just three times in 45 games. Without the pop, he didn't offer much at the plate, hitting a modest .250/.322/.349, good for a career-low 86 wRC+. Even the positives in his statline -- his average and on-base percentage each represented his best mark since his rookie season -- came with reasons for skepticism, as his BABIP shot up to .340. That seems unlikely to stick next season, as he produced a career-low 7.5% barrel rate and a career-high 21.7 degree launch angle. (Flyballs tend to come with lower BABIPs.) DeJong needs to get nearly all of his power back this season to be an interesting fantasy option, especially as he's now stolen precisely one base in three of his four MLB campaigns.

DeJong is a perfect encapsulation of the 2019 season. He hit 30 HR, scored 97 runs, stole nine bases, and by wRC+, he was exactly league average at 100. Normally a shortstop hitting 30 homers is something to celebrate, yet what DeJong did last year was not that special. He has an odd trend going in that his strikeout rate has improved each of the past three seasons, but his batting average has dropped in each of the past three seasons -- more than 50 points from his rookie year. He laughs at traditional splits because 27 of his 30 homers last year came off right-handed pitching and he had a worse batting average against southpaws. The season DeJong had last year harkens back to an old fantasy favorite -- Tony Batista. Go look up Batista's 2002 season, and then look at the range of outcomes for him after that season. A similar future is in store for DeJong if something doesn't change.

Coming off a surprising rookie season, DeJong's sophomore campaign was a mixed bag. He missed nearly two months after fracturing his left hand via a hit-by-pitch May 17. At the time, DeJong was sporting a reasonable .824 OPS with eight long balls. After his July 6 return, DeJong struggled, failing to hit a homer until July 25, registering a meek .550 OPS in that span. From that point on, DeJong's power returned (11 home runs), but he reached base at a poor 30% clip. DeJong carried over his 2017 elevated flyball rate, while his HR/FB dropped a few points, perhaps a result of the hand injury, though his hard-hit rate remained above average. While his below-average contact rate and low walk rate render DeJong a batting-average liability, there's reason for optimism as his plate skills improved last season and were masked by a low BABIP. DeJong should be the everyday shortstop, and the power isn't a question.

In one of the biggest surprises of the 2017 season, DeJong led the Cardinals in home runs and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. A fourth-round selection in 2015, he was largely unheralded in the prospect community, having posted an underwhelming .260/.324/.460 line at the Double-A level in 2016. He garnered little buzz upon his initial promotion to the majors in late May, but DeJong solidified his spot in the everyday lineup and in the three hole in the batting order in less than two months. There are some obvious red flags, namely his 28 percent strikeout rate and 4.7 percent walk rate, but DeJong's ability to get the ball in the air consistently bodes well for his power production moving forward. Speed is not part of the package, but DeJong qualifies at shortstop and second base and the bat is probably a little better than most will give him credit for even after the strong debut.

More Fantasy News

Sitting down Saturday

SSKansas City Royals

September 14, 2024

DeJong isn't in the Royals' lineup Saturday versus Pittsburgh.