VEB 2018 Community Projections: Jedd Gyorko

Jedd Gyorko, acquired in 2015 from the San Diego Padres as part of the Jon Jay Salary Dump, surprised many in 2016 by leading the St. Louis Cardinals in home runs. He entered 2017 without a regular starting position, but after Jhonny Peralta struggled, Gyorko inherited the third base role and never looked back. Although he did falter somewhat down the stretch, Gyorko still managed to put up a solid season both offensively and defensively, primarily at third base.

Unlike 2017, when Gyorko was a bit of a wild card(inal—sorry), the deceptively young Gyorko (this is totally subjective but he seems older than 29, right?) enters 2018 with a fairly solid grip on the starting third base job—despite some tepid rumors that the Cardinals would pursue Manny Machado or Josh Donaldson and relegate Gyorko to super-utility role (or part of the trade), the hot corner appears like a relatively safe bet to be handled by Jedd Gyorko in 2018.

For the second consecutive season, Gyorko ended the season with a 112 wRC+. His home run power, while still existent (he hit 20 in 481 plate appearances), dropped from 2016 (30 home runs in 438 PAs), though Gyorko did improve his walk rate while his strikeout rate remained effectively the same (it actually dropped slightly), while his batting average on balls in play normalize (going from a paltry .244 in 2016 to a typical .312 in 2017).

How will Jedd Gyorko fare with the expectations of a full season of playing time? Before you make your picks, take a look at what ZiPS, Steamer, and Baseball Prospectus have to say. And also bear in mind that Jedd Gyorko is literally better than Mike Trout.

Make your picks below: