Jake Cronenworth

He hit the ground running in his first three major-league seasons, but it's fair to say Cronenworth played a role in the overall disappointment that emanated from San Diego last year. After registering a combined .770 OPS (117 OPS+) between 2020-22, he stumbled to a .689 OPS (92 OPS+) over 522 plate appearances in 2023. The batting average, the on-base skills, the slugging percentage -- all of his rate stats fell off in a major way, and with that came a drastic dip in counting-stats production. Cronenworth signed a seven-year, $80 million contract extension with the Padres last March and is not at risk of losing any sort of playing time in the immediate future, but he's also not a safe bet to fully rebound at age 30 and there are a lot of higher-upside options on the board at both first base and second base. Read Past Outlooks