Player Profile: Michael Conforto

Michael Conforto:
At the youthful age of only 24, Conforto is already a beast with the bat. He ranks Top Ten among qualified hitters in Runs, Home Runs, On-Base, Slugging, and OPS. In addition to Conforto’s video game like power numbers, he isn’t afraid of taking a few walks. In fact, this season he ranks in the top 30 for walk percentage at 13.3%. His strikeout rate on the other hand does have some cause for concern at 25%, but when you compare him to the other HR leaders in baseball, he stacks up about average. One of the more impressive things about Conforto is his up the middle approach. His balanced approach at the plate has helped him to the top of the MLB leaderboard for Cent% at 47%. This is a fancy way of saying he has more hits to the middle of the field than anyone else. This approach will suit him well in batting average and prevent his swing and miss from getting out of control. The real source of his power is coming from his 48.6% Hard Contact Rate (which ranks top 5 in MLB). Pair this with his ideal 13.88 degree launch angle and his above average 89.7 MPH AEV (AVG EXIT VELO) and you have the makings of an all-star level power hitter. My Conforto crush takes a little bit of a hit when you consider that his HR/FB rate of over 30% is unsustainable and his strikeout percentage against lefties is 5th worst in baseball at 37%. All things considered, Conforto is making the best of his first full season of at bats and should continue to impress.