Stagnation isn’t usually a good thing in any profession, and baseball’s no different. So why then, am I not panicking when I look at Gleyber Torres’ numbers and I see such similar stats between 2018 and 2019?
2018: .271/.340/.480, 8.7% walk rate, 25.2% strikeout rate, 120 wRC+
2019: .279/.329/.515, 7% walk rate, 23.4% strikeout rate, 119 wRC+
In Torres’ case this year, stagnation with some of these numbers is just fine. Torres proved more of a surprise last year than an expected contributor; he frequently batted ninth and his power was more of a luxury than a necessity.