DET
Randy Arozarena, OF
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Scouting report
Yes, Arozarena was on last year's pre-season Top 100 but he was evaluated as a well-rounded, tough-nosed everyday player rather than someone with impact power, which he developed by doing push ups all day in his hotel room during a COVID-19 quarantine. I think this is a real, relevant change and helped drive his debut season's triple slash line, a star-like .281/.382/.641 in the regular season and God-like .500/.538/1.042 in the playoffs. A pertinent data point here is Arozarena’s max exit velo, which was 109 mph in 2019 and moved up to 113 mph in 2020. This is a measurable change in physical ability, the reason for which is well-publicized and which is supported by a visual evaluation of Arozarena’s physicality. And I’m not too worried about the sudden uptick in his strikeout rate because it not only occurred in a small sample but is way above his career norm of 18.5% (I'm avoiding recency bias), and the circumstances surrounding it (Arozarena rolled out of quarantine bed and faced big league pitching for the longest stretch of his life) are odd. We also got our first glimpse of how opponents are going to pitch to Arozarena now that he's a certified masher, and I think that his walk rate and OBP are both going to take a pretty serious leap. His newfound physique might also bring about a change to his approach to contact (this guy once looked like a leadoff hitter) as he continues to get a feel for what it's like to have this much juice, but I'm not sure how that will manifest on the field. I think the added weight has made him a worse defender and now have a 40 on him in left field, not that it matters. He's likely to anchor the middle of the Rays order for the next half decade. It should be noted that Arozarena was involved in an altercation related to a custody dispute this offseason; he was released from custody after his former partner declined to press charges. (Alternate site, MLB)