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Atlanta Braves: Marcell Ozuna doesn’t need to be Donaldson, he just needs to be himself

By Josh Mathews

ST LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 16: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals drives in two runs with a ground-rule double against the Washington Nationals in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on September 16, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 16: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals drives in two runs with a ground-rule double against the Washington Nationals in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on September 16, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – MAY 18: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals scores a run in the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington on May 18, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – MAY 18: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals scores a run in the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington on May 18, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

For Marcell Ozuna’s contract with the Atlanta Braves to be a success, he doesn’t need to replace Josh Donaldson‘s production. Ozuna needs to be himself and give a season towards the middle to high end of his career production.

Atlanta Braves new left fielder Marcell Ozuna has been good, and at times, a great player. Some may have argued that he was on the edge of something even bigger after a monster 2017 season with the Miami Marlins where he hit .312 with 37 home runs and 94 RBI. He also reeled in a gold glove, though he’s often criticized for his defense.

During his rookie season in 2013 with the Marlins, he showed potential, but only hit three homers in 275 at-bats. Then, the power came. From 2014 to 2019, he’s hit 145 home runs, and that includes the 2015 season where he hit just 10 home runs and spent some time at AAA.

Throwing out the 2015 season, he’s averaged 27 home runs per season, and over the past three seasons, he’s averaged 30 home runs. Ozuna produces runs too, averaging 100 RBI over the past three seasons as well.

After that great 2017 season, he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals, who gave up three prospects — one of them, a 2019 All-Star in Sandy Alcantara.

When you compare Ozuna’s contract, a one year, $18 million dollar pact — to Nick Castellanos four years at $64 million, and Josh Donaldson at four years and $92 million (with a fifth year option), it appears that Alex Anthopoulos did, indeed, get the best value.

Now, for the negative — Ozuna does strikeout a lot. In any full season, he’s never struck out fewer than 110 times. His high-water mark was 164 K’s in 2014, and he struck out 144 times during his excellent 2017 season. Otherwise, he’s been pretty consistent, around 110 to 115 strikeouts a year.

Ozuna’s on-base percentage generally hovers around .325. He’s never walked more than 64 times in a season, so ideally, you’d like to see that figure go higher. He did walk 62 times last season with St. Louis.

With Ozuna, I think a safe assessment is ‘what you see is what you get.’

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