Brett Lawrie is one of those names that elicits an initial wave of excitement, followed by the memories of all the times you thought the breakout was coming. It feels as though now he’s settled into a profile, and if he hits sixth for the White Sox then he could turn in another year like 2015.
Steamer only has him slated for 113 games, but the job at second base is his to lose. He appeared to change his approach at the plate last year, seeing dramatic rises in his K rate, swinging strike rate, and chase (O-Swing) rate, while walking less and making less contact with pitches in the zone. What was it for? Seems the answer is power, as he dropped his soft contact rate and pulled the ball more. We’ll see what Chicago’s coaches do with his approach, but there’s no reason a line of 60-15-55-5-.260 can’t be attainable for Lawrie in 2016.