Jake Cave

Jake Cave

30-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Philadelphia Phillies
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Cave's five-year run in the majors with the Twins came to an end in October of 2022, as he was designated for assignment and claimed by the Orioles. Entering his age-30 season, there's little expectation that he'll be more than a strong-side platoon option at best. He's a career .235 hitter with a .708 OPS, and he's trended downward from there after a serviceable first two seasons. The Orioles are pretty well set in the outfield for starters, reserves and potential prospect challengers, so Cave's likely to begin the year at Triple-A Norfolk. It's safe to pass on the outfielder in fantasy since he's likely no more than an injury replacement in-season. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#600
ADP
$Signed one-year contract with the Phillies in March of 2023.
On bench against righty
OFPhiladelphia Phillies
September 16, 2023
Cave will be on the bench Saturday against St. Louis.
ANALYSIS
Cave has filled a platoon role for most of the second half, starting against most righties while sitting against every lefty, but that pattern may be changing. He's now sat for four straight games, two of which have come against right-handers, including Saturday's starter Miles Mikolas. As was the case Wednesday against righty Spencer Strider, it will be Brandon Marsh in left field and Johan Rojas in center.
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Batting Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
9
24
18
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+54%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+70%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+4%
OPS vs LHP
2021
 
 
+161%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021vs Left .421 107 2 0 7 3 .175 .198 .223
Since 2021vs Right .647 451 47 13 47 3 .213 .276 .372
2023vs Left .391 33 1 0 1 1 .138 .219 .172
2023vs Right .663 170 17 5 20 2 .226 .282 .381
2022vs Left .667 33 1 0 4 2 .273 .273 .394
2022vs Right .639 144 16 5 16 0 .198 .257 .382
2021vs Left .244 41 0 0 2 0 .122 .122 .122
2021vs Right .636 137 14 3 11 1 .211 .287 .350
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+2%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+12%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+35%
OPS at Home
2021
 
 
+35%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021Home .597 261 24 6 27 3 .197 .258 .339
Since 2021Away .608 297 25 7 27 3 .212 .264 .344
2023Home .582 89 9 2 7 1 .188 .270 .313
2023Away .649 114 9 3 14 2 .231 .274 .375
2022Home .737 88 9 3 13 1 .250 .273 .464
2022Away .547 89 8 2 7 1 .175 .247 .300
2021Home .456 84 6 1 7 1 .147 .229 .227
2021Away .614 94 8 2 6 0 .225 .266 .348
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Stat Review
How does Jake Cave 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 2019 data (min 400 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.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.27
 
BB Rate
7.4%
 
K Rate
27.1%
 
BABIP
.270
 
ISO
.136
 
AVG
.212
 
OBP
.272
 
SLG
.348
 
OPS
.620
 
wOBA
.275
 
Exit Velocity
89.3 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
32.6%
 
Barrels/PA
4.9%
 
Expected BA
.202
 
Expected SLG
.365
 
Sprint Speed
24.1 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
38.9%
 
Line Drive %
19.8%
 
Fly Ball %
41.2%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Jake Cave See More
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
Cave recorded a 106 wRC+ across the first three years of his MLB career but stumbled to a 49 wRC+ last season, the product of a .189/.249/.293 slash line. The Twins gave him several chances to win a platoon role, but he could never capitalize before really struggling last season. He could return to his former level as a passable part-time outfielder role, but he has a modest ceiling to pair with a low floor. He'll compete for a reserve role with the Twins again this spring, but likely adds depth at Triple-A.
After a career-best season at the plate in 2019, Cave struggled in 2020, hitting just .221 with a .674 OPS and 82 wRC+. His walk rate declined (4.1%) sharply and his strikeouts increased (35.8%), leading to slumps like a 1-for-23 stretch in late July. Cave can play all three outfield positions (82nd percentile for Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant) and has above-average speed (74th percentile sprint speed, per Statcast). He previously drew walks at a decent clip and makes hard contact, so he could bounce back if he can reduce his strikeouts. He may also fit better as a platoon option given his struggles against left-handed pitching (.548 OPS vs. lefties last season). He'll try to win a reserve role again this spring.
Cave proved to be a valuable reserve outfielder for the Twins as he was pressed into regular duty in the second half due to injuries and responded with an .806 OPS and eight home runs in 76 games. Cave can play all three outfield positions, but is challenged to be more than a spot starter in center field (-3 DRS in CF). He draws walks at a decent clip and makes hard contact. However, a high strikeout rate (31.1 K%) can get him in trouble. He may also fit better as a platoon option given his .732 OPS vs. left-handed pitchers. He'll try to win a reserve role again this spring, and again likely needs an injury to one of the three primary outfielders or to the DH, Nelson Cruz, in order to get regular at-bats.
Cave was blocked in the minors with the Yankees, but found new life and a path to the majors with the Twins. He hit .265/.313/.473 with 13 home runs in 91 games, getting an extensive trial as a starter late in the season. However, his .363 BABIP, 23.2% HR/FB and 33.0 K% did not back up his surface stats. Cave can play all three outfield positions, but would be challenged to be more than a spot starter in center field. He showed decent power in the upper levels of the minors, with strikeout percentages in the mid-20s, but has typically been old for his level. Cave could profile on the strong side of a platoon, as he hit .287/.335/.509 with a slightly better strikeout rate (30.8%) against righties while posting just a .642 OPS against lefties. Unfortunately, Cave will likely need an injury to one of the three primary outfielders or to the DH, Nelson Cruz, in order to get regular at-bats.
More Fantasy News
Sitting against lefty
OFPhiladelphia Phillies
September 15, 2023
Cave isn't in the Phillies' lineup Friday against St. Louis.
ANALYSIS
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On bench Wednesday
OFPhiladelphia Phillies
September 13, 2023
Cave is absent from the lineup Wednesday versus Atlanta.
ANALYSIS
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Takes seat versus lefty
OFPhiladelphia Phillies
September 12, 2023
Cave is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game versus Atlanta.
ANALYSIS
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Not in Sunday's lineup
OFPhiladelphia Phillies
September 10, 2023
Cave is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
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On bench Friday
OFPhiladelphia Phillies
September 8, 2023
Cave is not in the lineup Friday versus the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
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