FanPost

Is Jorge Soler better than Wladimir Balentien?

A few years ago, Jorge Soler was a top-tier prospect with the Cubs who fell out of favor with the team due to his a awful defence and hitting which wasn't up to snuff. The Cubs traded him to the Royals for Wade Davis. The question is: Does he remind you somewhat of a great hitter in Japan named Wladimir Balentien? A hitter who has been a 30-homer threat almost every year since 2011 and hit 60 in 2013?

Back in 2014/2015, Jorge Soler was well liked because of his high raw power capabilities. A quote on his capabilities by a FanGraphs author, as shown in his 2015 player profile: "Soler’s eventual upside is a .285/.360/.485 slash line (Kiley McDaniel)" suggests he could be a very good player even without good defense. He doesn't have good defense, and should only play corner outfield/DH, which he currently does with the Royals. From 2014-2016 he had accumulated 762 plate appearances with the Cubs, hitting 27 home runs and 98 RBI with 87 runs scored. He stolen four bases in five attempts, and positive baserunning value. He had been struck out a concerning 27.7% vs an ok 8.9% walk rate, along with a .176 ISO, and an inflated .331 batting average on balls in play; this lead to a .259/.328/.435/.763 batting line and a 106 wrc+. Of course that 106 wrc+ would be even better if his defense in right field was better than it was, his defense was so bad it dragged his WAR down to 1.4 in those 762 PA which is decidedly below average, but acceptable at his low cost. Admittedly, he has gotten better on defense so that is less of a concern. Balentien's babip was .279 in the MLB and he had a weak .221, .281, .374, .287 wOBA 72 WRC+, 7.9 % BB, 26.7 % K and a .153 Iso.

In Balentien's NPB career , he has become the constant 30 home run threat I mentioned earlier. And in 2013 he hit an astounding 60 home runs with a .330/.455/.779/1.234 batting line. His overall batting line (.272/.380/.559/.939) suggests more walks (14.6% in Japan) and less strikeouts (21.4% in Japan) and a much better hitter in general because he doesn't get the benefit of being able to DH as the Central League is the NPB equivalent of the National League. In theory, since he is facing pitchers that on average are slightly better than AAA he could be able to produce a line like this: .255/.345/.510/.855 at best which looks much more promising than what Soler should be able to do, especially if Balentien is properly rested. Although, Solar impressed with an unsustainable .340 babip fueling his .265, .354, .466, .354 wOBA, 123 WRC+ to a .9 war in 61 games.

After this season, Balentien is going to be a free agent which means he could sign with an MLB team as a left fielder/dh. To me, he now looks like Jose Bautista used to look a few years ago in terms of hitting capabilities at a much cheaper cost than Nelson Cruz. He should be a Houston Astros target for their DH role. As just a hitter, I'd rather have Balentien. However, Soler's tiny semblance of defensive capabilities and potential for better plate discipline make him more desirable despite his unsustainable babip, the fact that he should be a DH in the first place, and the fact that Soler didn't have a LD rate of above 20%. Of course, the Royals could use Balentien as a DH and sell him off to a contending team like other rebuilding teams who aren't the Orioles could do.

All stats are owned by their respective owners. All stats are as of 10-10-18. Enjoy the poll and comment your takeaways and thoughts

This FanPost was written by a member of the Royals Review community. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and writers of this site.