2019 MLB Draft Guide Player Profile: Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Isiah Kiner-Falefa is one of the more intriguing catchers in the fantasy landscape this season. He offers positional versatility for his fantasy owners, and depending on your league requirements, he could have eligibility behind the dish, at second base and at third base, seeing as he appeared in at least 20 games at each of those positions. Given his stat line, you will want to slot him as your backstop, because he doesn’t do enough offensively to compete with the majority of players at the keystone or the hot corner. However, the eligibility behind the plate is key, because in deeper two-catcher formats, Kiner-Falefa can do for your team what other catchers simply cannot. It’s imperative to understand that you will need to build your roster appropriately beforehand.

Kiner-Falefa entered rookie ball back in 2013 and it wasn’t until 2017 that he left the yard as a big leaguer for the first time. In his minor league career, he hit five home runs, all of which came in 129 Double-A games in 2017. Last year, he hit four long balls in 111 games as a member of the Rangers, and ultimately ended the year with an ISO of .096 and a slugging percentage of just .357. Just to put things in perspective, here are a few guys that posted similar marks to Kiner-Falefa in 2018.

Aside from just those metrics above, Statcast provides a few players with a similar batted ball profile to Kiner-Falefa. Two of the ones that really stick out are Jon Jay and Mallex Smith . Essentially, you aren’t getting a lot of big time power production from the versatile youngster, but he will provide a better batting average than other players at his position. There is some room for some power improvement, but we are looking at an absolute maximum of 8-10 homers over the course of a full season. In 2019, anything above five round-trippers should be viewed as a bonus. He did 18 doubles last year, so there is some power to the gaps, so an increase in launch angle could send a few more balls over the fence, but he hasn’t shown an inclination in the past to really lift the ball.

Kiner-Falefa hit .261 last season, which is solid, and his xBA of .254 indicates that he only slightly outperformed his expected outcome. He makes a ton of contact and doesn’t swing and miss often, which bodes well for the sustainability of his batting average. In 2018, Kiner-Falefa posted an excellent 5.9 SwStr% and a contact rate of 85.7 percent. All of that is fine and dandy, sure, but when he does make contact, what he does with it is oftentimes underwhelming.

The positional versatility with Kiner-Falefa is nice to an extent, considering that you should only really be playing him behind the dish. Playing him at any other position diminishes his fantasy value and puts your fantasy team at a significant disadvantage the longer you have him in your starting lineup as a non-catcher. Essentially, Kiner-Falefa provides a decent batting average with a chance for over 10 combined home runs and stolen bases as your second catcher. Other catchers can provide actual game-changing numbers in a certain category, like home runs, but Kiner-Falefa bucks that trend, offering a little bit across the board. If you drafted a team with the likes of Joey Gallo and other batting average drains, gaining a solid average with a few pocket steals from your second catcher certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Kiner-Falefa’s positional versatility may not be as big of an added benefit as fantasy owners may think, considering that he isn’t a standout contributor in any particular category. From the catcher position, he offers a solid batting average with a few stolen bases, but the low hard contact and exit velocity rates don’t exactly lend themselves to notable power production. He’s unique enough with some playing time stability, at least early on, to warrant a selection as your second catcher in deeper formats.

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Statistical Credits:

fangraphs.com
baseballsavant.mlb.com