Juan Yepez

Almost immediately upon his MLB return in July, Yepez was batting 2-4 in the Washington lineup, which speaks more to the Nationals' lack of impact bats last season than anything else. To be fair, Yepez hit over .290 in two of his three months in the majors. However, he's not the type of hitter you expect to see in the heart of the order long term. The pressure will be on for him to hit since he's mostly limited to first base and DH at this stage. Yepez showed an improved strikeout rate last season, but he supplied a rather empty batting average with below-average power. The Cardinals previously dumped Yepez and his projected volume for 2025 could go out the window with one poor stretch since he doesn't really provide any defensive value. Read Past Outlooks