Gambles, 2026
Mar 9 2026
This column will help you identify batters who might be overvalued heading into draft day. We'll do so by looking at batters whose returns in 2025 were not backed by strong underlying skill support.
Last year in this space, we identified Tyler O'Neill (RF, BAL), Connor Wong (C, BOS), Victor Robles (RF, SEA), Adrian Del Castillo (DH, ARI), and Tyler Fitzgerald (2B, SF), all of whom fell short of expectations in 2025.
These batters had the lowest average exit velocity (EV) among those who posted a .750+ OPS in 2025 (min 50 PA):
| Name | Lg | Tm | bb% | ct% | Eye | OPS | EV | LA | Brl% |
| Drew Millas | NL | WAS | 8% | 86% | 0.57 | .807 | 84.3 | 8.3 | 2.3% |
| Tyler Heineman | AL | TOR | 7% | 79% | 0.39 | .777 | 84.4 | 19.2 | 3.2% |
| Jacob Wilson | AL | ATH | 5% | 92% | 0.69 | .800 | 84.6 | 8.6 | 2.2% |
| Jose Altuve | AL | HOU | 9% | 81% | 0.50 | .771 | 85.1 |
Almost!
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