Daulton Varsho

Varsho's 2024 season was not the step forward many hoped for as he settled in for his second season north of the border. Varsho continued his stellar defensive play in the outfield, but his offensive production was once again below average. He was a problem in both standard as well as OBP leagues as his extreme pull hitting and high volume of flyballs does not help batting average unless those batted balls are off or over the fence. Varsho was playing through shoulder troubles for an indeterminate amount of time and eventually shut his season down to have rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder which puts the start of his 2025 season at risk. That right shoulder is his front shoulder for hitting and injuries to the front shoulder prevent the necessary extension to drive the baseball. He had 11 homers in mid June but hit just 7 more the rest of the summer. Varsho's defense should help insulate his playing time once he is fully recovered, but something needs to change with in his profile because he is simply not making the necessary quality of contact to avoid hitting in the bottom third of the lineup. It is telling his xBA against all pitch groupings in 2024 was below .200 and is the third consecutive season in which his average against fastballs has declined. Read Past Outlooks