Pete Alonso

Since 2020, only Aaron Judge has more homers than Alonso. If you go back a year, Alonso heads the list. Last season, he posted his best season since 2019, fueled by a career high .271 batting average. Alonso's 18.8 percent strikeout rate dropped for the third straight season. His fly ball exit velocity dropped, but a tick more fly balls and him missing only two games allowed him to reach the 40-homer level for the second time in his career. Other than stolen bases, Alonso checks all boxes. Missing only 18 games in his four-year career shows durability while a wRC+ between 120 and 144 each season indicates reliability. A low strikeout rate offers a solid batting average floor for one of the top sluggers in the league. Alonso also hits in a prominent spot in a productive lineup. For pure power, it doesn't get any better.

While Alonso has improved parts of his game, he hasn't come close to repeating the 53 homers he hit in 2019. His strikeout rate has dropped to under 20%. Meanwhile, his maxEV has been steady at around 118 mph. He's still walking roughly 10 percent of the time. His launch angle hovers around 15 degrees. With all that constant, his HR/FB has dropped from 30.6% to 24.6% to just 19.7% last season. He's just not hitting any home runs to center or right field. In 2019, he hit 28 homers to center and right field (25 to left). While he hit 30 homers to left in 2021, only seven went over the center-field or right-field fence. If he's just going to have 30-40 homers, a .250 average and no stolen bases, it's nothing special. Several first baseman fit this profile (Joey Votto and Max Muncy for example). That power upside we've seen is tantalizing, but 2019 was a historic juiced ball year and it's unwise to project Alonso for a return to that level of power production in 2022.

Alonso had an amazing rookie season in Queens, which we knew was going to be exceedingly tough for him to repeat. It does not mean he did not try to repeat those lofty numbers, but the first baseman ultimately left managers wanting more. The thing with his metrics is most of them were right in line with his 2019 numbers, from his average exit velocity to his launch angle, but the little wiggle in his HR/FB - from 31% to 25% - cut into his homer ability. Perhaps the 2020 baseball was not as bouncy, though one thing that really stands out is his struggles against the fastball last season. Alonso had a .294 AVG and .669 SLG against the fastball as a rookie, but those numbers fell to .243 and .513 in his sophomore campaign. The power is still ridiculous, but 2020 was a humbling experience. Bank on a rebound toward his 2019 numbers in 2021, but expecting a repeat of those numbers is not the mindset to take here.

Alonso's 80-grade power plays in any environment, but the juiced ball made him especially lethal in his debut season. After breaking camp with the Mets, Alonso immediately justified his top-prospect billing early on, notching 12 extra-base hits and 17 RBI in his first 12 games. His power pace only slowed moderately from there, as the 25-year-old went on to lead MLB with 53 homers, breaking Aaron Judge's two-year-old rookie record. Almost just as encouragingly, Alonso kept his strikeout rate at an acceptable level (26.4%), something that had been a concern as he made the jump from Triple-A. Since he doesn't steal bases, Alonso would probably need to trade more pop flies for line drives to emerge as anything more than a neutral asset in batting average, but the high floor he offers in three categories makes him a comfortable early-round fantasy selection in 2020, and likely, many years to follow.

When factoring in his Arizona Fall League exploits, Alonso hit 42 home runs in 159 games last year, cementing himself as the top slugger in the minors. The 24-year-old first baseman has no problem squaring up elite velocity -- he took a 104-mph fastball out to center field in the Fall Stars game -- but can still be eaten up by good offspeed pitches. While the other top prospects expected to be called up in mid-to-late April, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Eloy Jimenez, project to be positive contributors in batting average and power right away, Alonso’s batting average will likely be closer to .230 than .270 in his first big-league season. That said, he has 80-grade power and should have no trouble posting big home run and RBI totals from day one. It is very rare that a R/R first base prospect emerges as a valuable dynasty-league asset, and the fact that Alonso has done so is a testament to his work ethic, which gets rave reviews.

A fairly easy player to evaluate, Alonso has a couple very clear strengths, and a couple very clear weaknesses. He has huge raw power -- his .231 ISO, which ranked second in the Florida State League, represented his career low in that metric. Alonso is also excellent at making contact, relative to most power hitters. His 18.5 percent strikeout rate at High-A was a career worst, and he struck out just 14.9 percent of the time in a brief 11-game run at Double-A to close the season. However, the right-handed slugger has dramatic splits. He absolutely obliterates left-handed pitching but is pretty mediocre against righties, especially for a first baseman. Additionally, he is a subpar defender, even at first base. The Mets have a better internal option in Dominic Smith, who is basically big-league ready, yet the organization is still entertaining ideas of getting a veteran placeholder there. If they follow through with that, Alonso would be a distant third on the organizational depth chart. He is probably best suited for the short side of a platoon in the American League.

As a right-handed first baseman who has yet to play in a full-season league, Alonso will not be showing up on real life prospect lists anytime soon. However, he should already be on the radar of dynasty league owners. Double-plus raw power is his calling card. That power was always on display at Florida, leading the Mets to select him with the 64th overall pick in 2016. His .266 ISO and 184 wRC+ illustrate how much damage he did in his brief 30-game run in the New York-Penn League, and his .969 OPS would have easily led the league if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. Alonso's hit tool, particularly his ability to hit right-handed pitching, will be what makes or breaks his ability to profile as a cleanup-hitting everyday player. Despite his gaudy overall numbers, he hit just .262/.306/.415 with a 4:15 BB:K in 65 at-bats against righties. Elite power makes him worth a flier in deeper formats, and it should become clear in a year if he is still worth a roster spot.