It is not uncommon for an MLB season to include players that have a breakout year. Here are five players in the National League that can have a breakout year in 2020.
Brandon Nimmo has been able to produce a pretty high on base percentage thus far in his career. Since his debut in 2016, Nimmo has a .387 career OBP.
Out of Nimmo’s four seasons, he has only played in more than half of the games once when he played 140 games in 2018. A full season that doesn’t get hindered by injuries could put Nimmo in a position to breakout and have his best season in the MLB so far.
Francisco Mejia (Image from MLB Trade Rumors)
Since he debuted in 2017, Francisco Mejia has had some struggles. The switch-hitting catcher has only played in 111 MLB games so far, with 79 of them coming in 2019. He had a pretty solid slash line at .265/.316/.438 last season. If he can continue to put up a similar line to start 2020, it can help him find a spot in his first All-Star game.
At the time of writing, the Padres had Austin Hedges on their depth chart, so Mejia may not have a guaranteed starting spot yet.
Kevin Newman played just 31 games in his first season, which was 2018. He struggled that year, hitting .209/.247/.231. Newman played 130 games the next season, and had much better numbers. His slash line in 2019 was .308/.353/.446. He had six triples as part of his total 38 extra-base hits last season. However, 75 percent of his hits were singles. If he can have some more extra-base hits in 2020, he can put up some impressive numbers.
Nick Ahmed (Image from therunnersports.com)
Nick Ahmed will be 30-years-old on Opening Day of 2020. He’s won back-to-back Gold Gloves in 2018 and 2019. However, he hasn’t put up elite numbers at the plate. Since his debut in 2014, Ahmed has a slash line of .236/.289/.387.
The Diamondbacks have made some upgrades this offseason, and if Ahmed could have a big season offensively, it could potentially help this team get to the Postseason.
Orlando Arcia is entering his fifth MLB season in 2020. One of his best statistical performances came in the 2018 NLCS. The Brewers lost to the Dodgers in seven games. However, Arcia had a slash line of .360/.385/.600. He hit two homers as part of nine hits in the series. Arcia has hit 15 home runs in two of his four big league seasons (2017 and 2019). Adding to his home run total can help him have a breakout season in 2020.
Feature Image Courtesy of ESPN.
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