Fantasy Baseball Scouting Report: David DeJesus: Will He Have Value?

Eric Stashin

Jul 6, 2010

There have been a lot of trade rumors surrounding the Royals’ David DeJesus, but should fantasy owners care? Will his value change dramatically if he were to be playing for a contender?

First of all, let’s look at the numbers he’s posted thus far in 2010 (through Sunday):

306 At Bats
.327 Batting Average (100 Hits)
5 Home Runs
35 RBI
40 Runs
3 Stolen Bases
.393 On Base Percentage
.467 Slugging Percentage
.363 Batting Average on Balls in Play

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The power is about what we’d expect, with a career high of just 13 HR coming in 2009. There’s just nothing in his makeup to make you think that he’s going to be anything more then that.

He’s always been a groundball hitter, currently at 47.7 percent (and has a 46.7 percent groundball rate for his career). Compare that to his 32.1 percent fly ball rate (and 32.4 percent for his career), and it’s going to take a lot for him hit a significant number of home runs. A 6.0% HR/FB rate (compared to 6.7 percent for his career) clearly isn’t going to do it.

So, the power isn’t going to go anywhere, and neither is the speed. His career high in stolen bases is just 11 and in 2009 he had four stolen bases.

He has little power and he’s not a stolen base threa. We’re running out of reasons to like him for fantasy purposes, aren’t we?

Yes, he has the average, but how believable is it really? With a .363 BABIP, it’s unlikely he maintains his current average. He’s a career .290 hitter, only once hitting above .300 (he hit .307 in 2008).

So, let’s just do a little summary here:

He doesn’t hit for power
He doesn’t steal bases
His average, which is his one saving grace, is likely in for a fall

Now, this may seem like a tough call, but DeJesus is a player that will likely have little value in the second half. Just because he’s a commodity in real baseball, does not make him one for fantasy owners. It really doesn’t matter where he ends up, he’s not someone to target.

What are your thoughts of DeJesus? Could he have any value in the second half? Is he someone you want to own?

Make sure to check out our recent Scouting Reports: