Kolten Wong News

Kolten Wong

28-Year-Old Second Baseman2B

St. Louis Cardinals

2019 Stats

AVG

.275

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2019 Fantasy Outlook

Wong has eclipsed 127 games just once in five seasons, and while his glove should keep him in the lineup against righties, he probably won't approach 500 plate appearances. He has matured into one of the top keystone defenders in the game, and the Cardinals don't need his bat to profile at the top of the lineup. Even so, after slashing .213/.304/.361 before the break, Wong posted a .317/.384/.439 line the rest of the season. Of some concern is a declining stolen-base success rate, as he was caught on five of his 11 attempts. Nagging injuries likely played a part but without double-digit bags, Wong's mixed-league utility is tenuous. Also worrisome is the fact Wong's 2018 ended with an MRI on his knee and the discovery of loose cartilage (surgery was deemed unnecessary). With his all-out style of play, a recurrence is possible. He was bad again against lefties (67 wRC+, 74 wRC+ for his career), so look for him to occupy the strong side of a platoon. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#618

ADP

Overall

Second Baseman

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League Majors

Bats L

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 5'7"

Weight 185

DOB 10/10/1990

Born Hilo, HI

College Hawaii

Drafted 1st Rd 2011 STL

Plates pair in win

2BSt. Louis Cardinals

August 21, 2019

Wong went 1-for-5 with a two-run single, a stolen base and a run in a win over the Brewers on Tuesday.

ANALYSIS
Wong's recent penchant for timely hitting persisted Tuesday, with his pair of RBI pushing his total to seven over the last six games. The 28-year-old has also reached safely in 12 of his last 13 starts and has seen a 35-point improvement in his batting average to .274 since July 2.

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Batting Stats

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2017

+10%

OPS vs RHP

2019

+3%

OPS vs LHP

2018

+22%

OPS vs RHP

2017

+15%

OPS vs RHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2017vs Left	.701	282	24	5	29	4	.271	.337	.364
Since 2017vs Right	.772	982	118	17	98	27	.270	.361	.411
2019vs Left	.779	100	9	3	11	3	.297	.350	.429
2019vs Right	.755	346	37	6	36	14	.268	.362	.393
2018vs Left	.614	96	9	1	9	1	.241	.301	.313
2018vs Right	.752	311	32	8	29	5	.252	.341	.411
2017vs Left	.703	86	6	1	9	0	.274	.360	.342
2017vs Right	.810	325	49	3	33	8	.288	.380	.431
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2017

+1%

OPS on Road

2019

+49%

OPS on Road

2018

+2%

OPS at Home

2017

+46%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2017Home	.754	609	68	10	59	14	.273	.354	.400
Since 2017Away	.759	655	74	12	68	17	.267	.357	.401
2019Home	.607	215	18	1	20	8	.235	.318	.289
2019Away	.905	231	28	8	27	9	.312	.397	.508
2018Home	.727	196	22	6	20	2	.249	.314	.412
2018Away	.711	211	19	3	18	4	.250	.348	.364
2017Home	.943	198	28	3	19	4	.339	.431	.512
2017Away	.647	213	27	1	23	4	.237	.324	.323
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Stat Review

How does Kolten Wong compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against this season's data (min 200 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.

BB/K

0.61

BB Rate

9.2%

K Rate

15.0%

BABIP

.309

ISO

.127

AVG

.275

OBP

.359

SLG

.402

OPS

.760

wOBA

.336

Exit Velocity

86.3 mph

Hard Hit Rate

35.3%

Barrels/PA

1.4%

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Kolten Wong

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Tuesday Picks

9 days ago

Mike Barner suggests that an Astros stack, headlined by Carlos Correa, is a solid play Tuesday against Ivan Nova and the White Sox.

DraftKings MLB: Tuesday Picks

9 days ago

Adam Zdroik is honing in on a Dodgers stack Tuesday on the road in Miami.

FanDuel MLB: Tuesday Breakdown

9 days ago

Chris Bennett checks out Tuesday's slate and thinks Javier Baez could headline a profitable Cubs stack as they take on Jason Vargas and the Phillies.

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12 days ago

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FanDuel MLB: Friday Breakdown

13 days ago

Adam Zdroik is targeting Tyler Beede and the Giants with a Phillies stack of hitters Friday.

Past Fantasy Outlooks

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

While Wong was limited to 108 games due to elbow, triceps and back injuries, his rate stats were better than ever in his age-26 season. He raised his on-base percentage nearly 50 points to .376 thanks in part to another uptick in walk rate (10 percent) and another decline in chase rate, and his .336 wOBA and 107 wRC+ were also well above his previous career highs. Wong was fortunate on balls in play (.331 BABIP), and his 48.1 percent groundball rate doesn't exactly bode well for his ability to increase his home-run numbers dramatically moving forward, but Wong has good speed and instincts on the bases to complement his above-average plate skills -- Wong is 15-for-17 on stolen-base attempts over the past two seasons. Manager Mike Matheny has kept Wong on a short leash so far in his career, but the reins may finally come off after Wong hit .274 with a .360 OBP against lefties last season.

Wong's 2016 showing was one to forget from the beginning, as he got off to a very slow start and hit just .222/.306/.286 through his first 49 games. As a result, he was sent to Triple-A Memphis, where he played seven games and took reps in center field. Upon his return to the majors, Wong was used as a utility man, playing every outfield position in addition to second base. While his batting average fell to .240 from 2015's .262 mark, his OBP rose (albeit marginally) due to his increased patience at the plate (9.4 percent walk rate, up from 5.9 percent). Despite this glimmer of hope, he never returned to his former role as a regular for the Cardinals and was used primarily off the bench as a pinch-hitter. Wong may remain relegated to a reserve role to begin 2017 and thus remain limited to deep mixed and NL-only consideration, especially given the slew of capable middle-infield options around the league.

After breaking out as a playoff star in 2014, Wong showed only marginal improvements in 2015. He hit just .262/.321/.386 with 11 home runs in his first full season in the majors. He dropped one home run and five stolen bases from his 2014 totals despite appearing in 37 more games and taking 180 more plate appearances. The power he flashed in the playoffs was there in the first half, as he hit eight home runs with a .434 slugging percentage before the break. But his second half was brutal, as Wong managed just three home runs, a .322 slugging percentage, and hit an awful .238. Wong never hit more than 10 home runs in the minor leagues, and it’s possible the apparent streakiness of his power in the majors is simply a sign that he doesn’t have much of it. His base stealing remains an asset, however, as he has 35 stolen bases in the past two years.

Manager Mike Matheny made Wong work hard in 2014 to prove he belonged, despite clearly being the superior option over veteran Mark Ellis. Wong was even demoted twice, once in late April and again in late June before finally being handed the starting job at second base in early July. Wong's rookie season wasn't what some had hoped, hitting just .242/.292/.388, but he did show good power and speed, with 12 home runs, 29 extra-base hits and 20 stolen bases in 402 at-bats. He also displayed fairly good plate discipline, striking out just 71 times on the season. Wong finished third in Rookie of the Year voting for the NL and should be expected to post better numbers in 2015 as he's handed the starting job from the outset. If the Cardinals' offense improves, which seems likely, Wong could very well be a top-12 second baseman, capable of approaching 20 home runs and swiping at least that many bases.

Wong finally got the call in mid-August but totaled just 62 plate appearances while with the Cardinals, hardly enough time to give any concern to his .153/.194/.169 line. The second baseman had a terrific year at Triple-A posting a .303/.369/.466 line while striking out just 60 times in 412 at-bats, a solid showing for the 23-year-old. With David Freese out of the picture, Matt Carpenter will shift to third and all signs point to the Cardinals giving Wong at least 400 at-bats as their primary second baseman in 2014. There's plenty of promise with the youngster and while he might not an elite hitter at his position, he has the skills to put up good numbers in a terrific Cardinals lineup.

Wong, a 2011 first-round pick, batted .287 with nine home runs and 21 stolen bases for Double-A Springfield last year, and despite the non-eye-popping numbers, the Cardinals will at least give the Hawaii product an opportunity to win a big league job in the spring. It's far more likely that he'll stay in the minors for another year, but he's getting close. Expect him to be the starting second baseman for the Cardinals by 2014, if not sooner.

Wong, a first-round pick in the 2011 draft, tore the cover off the ball in 47 games with Quad Cities last year, showing good speed (nine stolen bases), pop (22 extra-base hits), and a strong batting eye (21:24 BB:K). He's small, but he'll make up for it with his speed and defense. He could be playing second base for the Cardinals by 2013 or 2014.

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