Hanser Alberto

Alberto was among the most productive hitters in baseball against left-handed pitching in 2019 and he continued to punish lefties in 2020, slashing .375/.396/.521. Unfortunately, his numbers against righties remained poor; so poor in fact that he finished well below league average overall by wRC+. Alberto puts bat to ball well against pitchers of either handedness, but he absolutely refuses to take a walk (career 2.6 BB%). He's a nice short-end platoon infielder in theory, but less so in practice. He will inevitably get exposed to a good number of righties even if you only start him vs. LHP, and the on-base vs. RHP simply isn't good enough to get the job done. The Orioles non-tendered Alberto in December, but a reunion was said to still be on the table.

Alberto had a busy offseason last winter, as he was claimed off waivers four times before ending up in Baltimore for good in March. He responded by delivering a .305/.329/.422 slash line with 12 home runs in 127 starts, playing mostly between second and third base. His success against left-handed pitching was astonishing; Alberto hit close to .400 in 227 plate appearances against lefties, the second-best mark in baseball behind only J.D. Martinez. Against righties, Alberto hit just .238/.269/.340. All told, Alberto was worth close to 2.0 fWAR, as his contact rate and success against southpaws made up for a very low walk rate, middling power and marginal speed. Alberto figures to see plenty of opportunities again with the Orioles to begin 2020, batting leadoff whenever a lefty is on the hill for the opposition. A trade at some point seems likely.

Alberto returned from the shoulder injury which cost him nearly all of the 2017 season and spent most of the year at the Triple-A level. He hit .330/.346/.452 for Triple-A Round Rock, but went just 5-for-27 in the big leagues. That performance actually improved his career batting line, bringing it up to .192/.210/.231 in 192 PA. He's walked just 2.1% of the time, less often than the walk rate posted by pitchers at the plate last season (2.9%). The continued poor performance at the plate saw Alberto dumped by the Rangers and subsequently picked up by the Yankees. He can play anywhere in the infield, but the move to New York gives him a much tougher roster to crack. If injuries open up unexpected playing time, he'll have a friendly home park and good teammates around him to prop up his weak bat.

After seeing significant run with major league squad in 2015, Alberto held a considerably smaller role during the 2016 season. The 24-year-old Alberto didn't make much of a case for increased playing time, batting just .143 during his time in the big leagues. Alberto's defensive versatility is the reason for his presence on the 40-man roster. With more talented options ahead of Alberto on the depth chart at each infield position, chances are that he will continue to play sparingly. Look for him to ride the shuttle between Round Rock and Texas for most of the season yet again.

Alberto saw his first action in the majors in 2015, shuttling between Texas and Triple-A Round Rock as injuries (and poor performance) dictated — he got the first call up after both Rougned Odor and Tommy Fields were demoted in May. While Alberto showed a good bat at Triple-A, slashing .310/.331/.435, his production at the plate prior to that was less convincing. He's always been young for his level, but there's not much to get excited about here in terms of any significant roto value down the road. He is able to handle multiple infield positions well, however, which will be his calling card for 2015 and beyond as a utility infielder with a good glove.