Colorado Rockies: Who Was the Most Improved Player in 2016?

DJ LeMahieu

The final candidate for most improve is DJ LeMahieu, the MLB batting champion. DJ had a huge year for the Rockies hitting .348, just ahead of Washington’s Daniel Murphy. DJ has made great strides each year for the Rockies as I broke down earlier this season.

His batting average of .348 was well above the .301 line that he posted in 2015. His on base percentage elevated by .058 points from .358 to .416, which was third best in the major leagues. His 66 walks are a career high and equated to a base on balls in 10.4% of his plate appearances. This came from DJ’s willingness to take pitches and his knowledge of the strike zone. He saw 4.05 pitches per plate appearance. When he swung he usually made hit the ball, as his contact percentage was 88.4% this year, up almost 5% from 2015.

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In addition to just getting on base more, LeMahieu was also hitting the ball a lot harder. According to fangraphs, LeMahieu hit 35.2% of balls in play at a speed determined as “hard”. This was almost a 10% increase when compared to 2015. His average exit velocity was calculated at 92.68, which was well above the league average of 89.57.

These changes were shown in DJ’s power numbers. He compiled 11 more doubles, three more triples and five more home runs this year compared to last year, all of which were career highs. This was illustrated in his slugging percentage, which sat at .495 in 2016, more than a full point higher than his .388 line in 2015. His OPS ballooned by even more, growing from .746 to .911 which was a couple of points behind Seattle power hitter Nelson Cruz.

Like our other two candidates, LeMahieu saw noticeable increases in his WAR values in 2016. Baseball reference saw this value more than double from 2.3 to 5.2. According to fangraphs, DJ’s WAR also more than doubled moving from 1.9 all the way to 4.2.

Next: Jordan Patterson Using 2016 as a Springboard for Future

Clearly, the Rockies benefitted not only from the new guys but also from the improvements of these three players. It is a debate that could go on for a long time for which one of these Rockies improved the most. The WAR increases point to LeMahieu who was worthy of the largest jumps according to both websites.

Further than just this statistic, I think DJ is deserving of the most improved title because he saw improvements in his ability to get on base, and battle through tough at-bats, while also making great strides in his power numbers. Whoever the Rockies hire as their new manager will inherit a very solid nucleus moving towards 2017.