Paul DeJong

29-Year-Old ShortstopSS

St. Louis Cardinals

2022 Stats

AVG

.157

RBI

2023 Projections

AVG

RBI

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2023 Fantasy Outlook

After losing the starting job at shortstop to Edmundo Sosa late in 2021, DeJong regained the job in spring training. It did not last long, however, as DeJong was sent down in May following a .130/.209/.208 start to his season. A National League All-Star in 2019, DeJong's strikeouts have climbed in recent years while his rate power has cratered, leaving the Cardinals little choice but to look for a successor. DeJong would smack 17 homers in just 51 games with Triple-A Memphis while trimming his strikeout rate 10 percentage points from his mark at the major-league level, but his struggled continued after his return to the majors. He's due north of $9 million in 2023 in the final year of the extension he signed with St. Louis in 2018. The team may eat that sunk cost outright if DeJong can't do enough in camp to convince the club he can be a capable backup around the infield. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

#598

ADP

Overall

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'0"

Weight 205

DOB 8/2/1993

Born Orlando, FL

College Illinois State

Drafted 4th Rd 2015 STL

Mired in deep slump

SSSt. Louis Cardinals

October 2, 2022

DeJong has gone 4-for-36 (.111) since the start of September.

ANALYSIS
He's played in 20 games in that span, recording just one extra-base hit -- an RBI double in Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Pirates. DeJong has started to regain some playing time since the Cardinals clinched a playoff spot, starting three of the last four games at shortstop. The 29-year-old is still slashing a meager .152/.241/.288 with six home runs, 25 RBI, 17 runs scored and three stolen bases through 74 contests this year, with his defense likely the only thing between him and another demotion.

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Batting Stats

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2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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2018 MLB Game Log

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2017 MLB Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2020

+20%

OPS vs RHP

2022

+6%

OPS vs RHP

2021

+15%

OPS vs RHP

2020

+78%

OPS vs RHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2020vs Left	.548	172	16	4	10	3	.153	.262	.287
Since 2020vs Right	.656	631	63	24	84	5	.208	.285	.370
2022vs Left	.508	61	2	0	2	3	.151	.262	.245
2022vs Right	.538	176	17	6	23	0	.159	.239	.299
2021vs Left	.606	90	10	4	7	0	.163	.256	.350
2021vs Right	.694	312	34	15	38	4	.207	.292	.402
2020vs Left	.403	21	4	0	1	0	.118	.286	.118
2020vs Right	.718	143	12	3	23	1	.270	.329	.389
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2020

+2%

OPS on Road

2022

+17%

OPS at Home

2021

+33%

OPS on Road

2020

+51%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2020Home	.625	390	37	8	33	4	.201	.303	.322
Since 2020Away	.638	406	41	20	61	4	.190	.259	.379
2022Home	.575	109	8	2	9	0	.161	.284	.290
2022Away	.493	128	11	4	16	3	.154	.211	.282
2021Home	.582	210	17	5	13	4	.188	.281	.301
2021Away	.775	192	27	14	32	0	.206	.286	.488
2020Home	.835	71	12	1	11	0	.305	.394	.441
2020Away	.553	86	3	2	13	1	.208	.267	.286
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Stat Review

How does Paul DeJong compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.27

BB Rate

8.9%

K Rate

33.3%

BABIP

.213

ISO

.129

AVG

.157

OBP

.245

SLG

.286

OPS

.530

wOBA

.242

Exit Velocity

87.6 mph

Hard Hit Rate

29.3%

Barrels/PA

5.5%

Expected BA

.182

Expected SLG

.327

Sprint Speed

22.8 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

33.1%

Line Drive %

16.5%

Fly Ball %

50.4%

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

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Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

DeJong followed up his power outage in 2020 with an equally disappointing 2021 campaign. A .216 BABIP had a lot to do with a bleak .197 batting average, but there were deeper reasons for concern. The most troubling part of DeJong's 2021 profile was a steep drop in average exit velocity, which tumbled to 86.3 mph - eighth percentile in the league. It would be tempting to blame a side injury that landed him on the injured list in mid-May, but that theory falls apart when considering that he was hitting just .177/.277/.371 across 141 plate appearances to begin the season. After splitting time with Edmundo Sosa in the final months of the campaign, and assuming the Cardinals don't make any moves to upgrade the position, DeJong should have the opportunity to earn back the starting role. However, drafting him for anything more than mediocre power with otherwise empty production would be a mistake.

DeJong provided most of his value in his first three big-league seasons by having above-average power for a shortstop, averaging just shy of 25 homers per year. That power collapsed in 2020, as he homered just three times in 45 games. Without the pop, he didn't offer much at the plate, hitting a modest .250/.322/.349, good for a career-low 86 wRC+. Even the positives in his statline -- his average and on-base percentage each represented his best mark since his rookie season -- came with reasons for skepticism, as his BABIP shot up to .340. That seems unlikely to stick next season, as he produced a career-low 7.5% barrel rate and a career-high 21.7 degree launch angle. (Flyballs tend to come with lower BABIPs.) DeJong needs to get nearly all of his power back this season to be an interesting fantasy option, especially as he's now stolen precisely one base in three of his four MLB campaigns.

DeJong is a perfect encapsulation of the 2019 season. He hit 30 HR, scored 97 runs, stole nine bases, and by wRC+, he was exactly league average at 100. Normally a shortstop hitting 30 homers is something to celebrate, yet what DeJong did last year was not that special. He has an odd trend going in that his strikeout rate has improved each of the past three seasons, but his batting average has dropped in each of the past three seasons -- more than 50 points from his rookie year. He laughs at traditional splits because 27 of his 30 homers last year came off right-handed pitching and he had a worse batting average against southpaws. The season DeJong had last year harkens back to an old fantasy favorite -- Tony Batista. Go look up Batista's 2002 season, and then look at the range of outcomes for him after that season. A similar future is in store for DeJong if something doesn't change.

Coming off a surprising rookie season, DeJong's sophomore campaign was a mixed bag. He missed nearly two months after fracturing his left hand via a hit-by-pitch May 17. At the time, DeJong was sporting a reasonable .824 OPS with eight long balls. After his July 6 return, DeJong struggled, failing to hit a homer until July 25, registering a meek .550 OPS in that span. From that point on, DeJong's power returned (11 home runs), but he reached base at a poor 30% clip. DeJong carried over his 2017 elevated flyball rate, while his HR/FB dropped a few points, perhaps a result of the hand injury, though his hard-hit rate remained above average. While his below-average contact rate and low walk rate render DeJong a batting-average liability, there's reason for optimism as his plate skills improved last season and were masked by a low BABIP. DeJong should be the everyday shortstop, and the power isn't a question.

In one of the biggest surprises of the 2017 season, DeJong led the Cardinals in home runs and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. A fourth-round selection in 2015, he was largely unheralded in the prospect community, having posted an underwhelming .260/.324/.460 line at the Double-A level in 2016. He garnered little buzz upon his initial promotion to the majors in late May, but DeJong solidified his spot in the everyday lineup and in the three hole in the batting order in less than two months. There are some obvious red flags, namely his 28 percent strikeout rate and 4.7 percent walk rate, but DeJong's ability to get the ball in the air consistently bodes well for his power production moving forward. Speed is not part of the package, but DeJong qualifies at shortstop and second base and the bat is probably a little better than most will give him credit for even after the strong debut.

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Loses hold of regular role

SSSt. Louis Cardinals

August 28, 2022

DeJong is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.