While he may only have five homers, his 24 barrels leads both leagues by a comfortable margin, with Randy Arozarena in second place with 17. Not that you could fluke your way into leading all those categories over a month’s worth of games, but Chapman’s batted ball data only further reinforces just how good he’s been over the first month. He leads all AL hitters in batting average, doubles and total bases. Through Monday’s games, Chapman leads MLB in both bWAR and fWAR. ![]() Through the first month, this is the best version of Chapman we’ve ever seen. Well, forget rediscovering his peak from a few years back, let alone holding serve. But I wasn’t exactly counting on that, and felt that if he simply stayed healthy and held serve as a damn good third baseman with power, he’d do quite well for himself on the open market regardless. In the wake of Rafael Devers’ mega extension with the Red Sox and (correctly) assuming Manny Machado would also soon be locked up long term in San Diego, I tabbed Chapman in January as the strongest candidate to be the top free-agent hitter available this upcoming winter after Shohei Ohtani.Īt the time, I suggested that if he regained the fringe-MVP candidate form he demonstrated in 2018-2019 with the A's, he’d really be in line for quite the payday - especially with Scott Boras as his agent. Long known for his exquisite glove work at the hot corner headlining a power-over-hit profile at the plate, the 30-year-old Blue Jays third baseman has elevated his offensive game to outrageous new heights in 2023, and it couldn’t be coming at a better time. Chances are, you’ll find Matt Chapman perched atop the leaderboard. Pick a stat, ranging from traditional measures like batting average to new school metrics like WAR or barrel rate.
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