2025 Fantasy Baseball: Jordan Westburg Profile, Preview, Predictions
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Jordan Westburg's power bat arrived last season, and the fantasy market expects him to be even better in 2025. His home run output at second base is an edge, but that position requires speed in many fantasy team builds.
Jordan Westburg joins the party!
— MLB (@MLB) June 16, 2024
The @Orioles have hit four home runs this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/rNAlgD9kmz
2B – Jordan Westburg, BAL (ADP – 93.7)
The Orioles selected Westburg as the 30th player in the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft. In his first season in the minors, he hit .285 with 74 runs, 15 home runs, 79 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases over 424 at-bats. Westburg played better in his time at AAA (.283 with 121 runs, 36 home runs, 128 RBIs, and 15 steals over 630 at-bats) than his two stints at AA (.242/47/13/46/6 over 294 at-bats).
In 2023, Baltimore promoted him to the majors in late June after a hot start at AAA (.295/57/18/54/6 over 268 at-bats). Westburg didn’t stand out in his time with the Orioles, but he did gain experience. His best month came in August (.269/10/1/10/2 over 78 at-bats). He had more success against lefties (.284 with seven runs, one home run, and five RBIs).
Westburg made the Orioles starting lineup out of spring training last year, leading to an excellent start over the first three months (.281/40/13/48/6 over 295 at-bats). He landed on the injured list (broken left hand) in August for seven weeks. His bat had more risk vs. left-handed pitching (.230/14/5/17/2 over 100 at-bats). Baltimore gave him most of his at-bats, hitting 5th and 6th in their lineup.
His strikeout rate (21.7) moved into a favorable area while underperforming his minor league resume (11.9) in walk rate (4.9). His average hit rate (1.818) aligned with his 2022 and 2023 seasons. Westburg had close to a balanced swing path, with a lower HR/FB rate (14.5) than his minor league career. His exit velocity (91.1 mph) and hard-hit rate (46.1) ranked close to the top 25% of the league for batters with at least 400 plate appearances.
Fantasy Outlook: At first glance, Westburg looks mispriced this season, considering his short resume and expected slot in the batting order. His 2024 stats projected over 550 at-bats came to 75 runs, 24 home runs, 83 RBIs, and eight steals. Westburg checks the power box at second base with more underlying speed on his resume. Next step: 25 home runs with neutral stats in the four other categories. A move up in the batting order would be a big win for his counting 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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