Going Deep : Matt Chapman, Not Just A Defensive Wizard

Coming into 2018, Matt Chapman was known purely for his glove on the hot corner, which was one of the best in the game, but his bat was lagging behind and did not offer much relevance in fantasy baseball leagues. Through the first three months of 2017, that looked like it was not going to change very much, especially following a brutal May which saw him bat a putrid .186 and an even better OPS of 595.

However, that all changed in the second half of the season, which saw a new and improved Chapman. He became a .300 hitter over that span, started smoking the ball, drove in runs in bunches and saw his triple-slash line in the latter three months rise to the tune of .309/.371./.591, a vast improvement from his first-half numbers.

Chapman has been able to constantly lower his K rate each season that he has played, though this year saw a slight decline in his BB%, dipping below 10% for this first time in his career.

Name	PA	BB%	K%	OBP	SLG	OPS	ISO	BABIP	wOBA	wRC+
Alex Bregman	705	13.60%	12.10%	0.394	0.532	0.926	0.246	0.289	0.396	157
Jose Ramirez	698	15.20%	11.50%	0.387	0.552	0.939	0.282	0.252	0.391	146
Nolan Arenado	673	10.80%	18.10%	0.374	0.561	0.935	0.264	0.314	0.391	132
Anthony Rendon	597	9.20%	13.70%	0.374	0.535	0.909	0.227	0.323	0.383	140
Eugenio Suarez	606	10.60%	23.40%	0.366	0.526	0.892	0.243	0.322	0.376	135
Matt Carpenter	677	15.10%	23.30%	0.374	0.523	0.897	0.266	0.291	0.375	138
Matt Chapman	616	9.40%	23.70%	0.356	0.508	0.864	0.23	0.338	0.369	137
Miguel Andujar	606	4.10%	16.00%	0.328	0.527	0.855	0.23	0.316	0.361	128
Travis Shaw	587	13.30%	18.40%	0.345	0.48	0.825	0.239	0.242	0.351	119

A look at the league’s top 3B shows that Chapman compares very well with some of the bigger names in the sport. His closest comparison would likely be Eugenio Suarez, who also had a breakout 2018.

Chapman also compares well to perennial NL MVP candidate Nolan Arenado, whom, coincidentally, he played high school ball with for El Toro HS in California. With those two gold glovers playing on the same side of the infield, a ground ball probably did not stand a chance of getting through for a single.

Chapman numbers increased as the Athletics made a second-half surge towards the playoffs and fantasy owners who owned him reaped the benefits off of the waiver wire. His numbers were backed up by great underlying stats and a young improving lineup around him, which should offer potential for even more upside for the 25-year old slugger in 2019.

The one glaring weakness that hurts Chapman’s overall upside is the ballpark that he plays in. O.Co coliseum isn’t exactly a hitters paradise, so it will suppress his overall power, but he showed he still has a chance to eclipse the 30 home run mark for the first time in his career.

Pictured below are two graphics, one that shows hit hit chart in his home stadium, and the second one is if Chapman played in Yankee Stadium. As you can see you can almost add 10 home runs to his 2018 total if he didn’t play in Oakland.

 

 

Chapman had a breakout year in 2018 and showed fans and fantasy owners alike that he’s a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the field. He projects to be a safe fantasy pick moving forward and an anchor for the 2019 Athletics. Currently Chapman is being draft around 3B14 which comes after the 100th pick, that is great value for a rising player like chapman who should continue his surge up the 3B rankings.