2025 Fantasy Baseball: Jurickson Profar Profile, Preview, Predictions
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The Braves signed Jurickson Profar to add length to their starting lineup. His bat surprised in 2024 after underperforming his pedigree for most of his major league career.
Home run #22 for Jurickson Profar
— Padres Nation (@NationPadres) September 6, 2024
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OF – Jurickson Profar, ATL (ADP – 223.0)
Profar came to the majors at age 19 with a high pedigree in the Texas Rangers system. Unfortunately, he failed to reach his expected potential. Last season, his bat was found in the free agent pool in most redraft fantasy ball leagues. Profar rode a productive April (.318/16/4/19/1 over 107 at-bats) to a full-time job for the remainder of the year for San Diego. He set career highs in plate appearances (668), runs (94), home runs (24), and RBIs (85) at age 31.
From May to July, his bat offered value in four categories (batting average – .298, runs – 44, home runs – 14, and RBIs – 51) while chipping in with four stolen bases. Profar faded over the final third of the year (.231/34/6/15/5 over 182 at-bats). His best play came against left-handed pitching (.300/21/8/31/1 over 150 at-bats).
His strikeout rate (15.1) and walk rate (11.4) have been in a favorable area for most of his career. Even with a rise in power, Profar still had weakness in his average hit rate (1.639) while posting a five-year high in his contact batting average (.341 – .293 from 2021 to 2023). The jump in his exit velocity (91.1 mph – 87.5 in his career) and hard-hit rate (44.2 – 33.3 in his career) suggest more JUICE in his swing coming into a contract season. He posted his highest fly-ball rate (37.9) since 2012 while finishing with an improved HR/FB rate (13.6 – 6.5 in 2023).
Fantasy Outlook: Based on his rank (26th) in FPGscore (3.42) in 2024, Profar stands out as a mispriced player this year as the fantasy market waits to see where he signs his next contract. This draft season in the high-stakes market, he is the 130th batter selected. I don’t like buying players after career years, and his lack of success over the previous three seasons shines brightly in his rearview mirror. I see regression across the board, and I’ll avoid the temptation of buying last year’s stats.
RANKINGS
Top 5 Catchers | Catchers 6-10 | Catchers 11-15
Top 5 First Basemen | First Basemen 6-10 | First Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Second Basemen | Second Basemen 6-10 | Second Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Shortstops | Shortstops 6-10 | Shortstops 11-15
Top 5 Third Basemen | Third Basemen 6-10 | Third Basemen 11-15
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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