What can the Braves expect from d’Arnaud in 2021?
d’Arnaud was a highly touted prospect for the Mets who unfortunately just could never stay healthy. When he’s been healthy throughout his career he’s been really good at the plate.
But things really changed once he got to Tampa (which seems to be the case for most players).
After joining the Rays in May 2019 he’s hit .283 in almost 500 at-bats with 25 home runs in 136 games between Tampa and Atlanta.
In 2020 for the Braves he hit .321 with 9 home runs in 44 games (165 at-bats) with a .919 OPS and a wRC+ of 144.
Anyone expecting that kind of production again in 2021 needs to temper their expectations — those are otherwordly numbers and aren’t realistic over an entire season.
But I do believe that if he can stay healthy he’ll be one of the top offensive catchers in baseball again.
FanGraphs ZiPS projections have him slashing .264/.325/.437 with 16 home runs and a wRC+ of 96, while playing in 111 games.
I would hope he’s playing closer to 120 games if he stays healthy all season. However, he’s never played more than 112 games in a season throughout his career, so that could be wishful thinking.
Baseball-Reference has him slashing .260/.329/.446 with a .775 OPS and 20 home runs in 435 at-bats.