Nicky Lopez

28-Year-Old Second Baseman2B

Chicago White Sox

2023 Stats

AVG

.231

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2023 Fantasy Outlook

Lopez's BABIP-dependent hitting didn't work out in 2022, making his breakout in 2021 look like the exception rather than the rule. The infielder regressed to a .227/.281/.273 slash line with a .265 BABIP through 141 games last year, and once Bobby Witt established himself near the top of the order, Lopez often hit in the bottom third. Speed's about the only thing Lopez has going in his favor -- he stole 13 bases on 16 attempts last year while playing for one of the worst offenses in the majors. As if his future with the Royals could get much cloudier, Michael Massey's arrival to fill second base will likely leave Lopez as a utility man in his age-28 season. If he can't hit above .270, the complete lack of power in his bat nullifies any potential base-stealing boost Lopez could offer in fantasy. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#545

ADP

Overall

League Majors

Bats L

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 5'11"

Weight 175

DOB 3/13/1995

Born Naperville, IL

College Creighton

Drafted 5th Rd 2016 KC

Brings versatility to Sox

2BChicago White Sox

November 16, 2023

Lopez was traded from Atlanta to the White Sox on Thursday along with Michael Soroka (forearm), Jared Shuster, Braden Shewmake and Riley Gowens in exchange for Aaron Bummer.

ANALYSIS
Lopez was dealt for the second time in the last five months as Atlanta looks to clear space on its 40-man roster. After handling a full-time role in 2021 and 2022, Lopez served primarily as a bench bat in 2023 and maintained only a .632 OPS. While he's shown stolen base upside in the past, Lopez managed only six steals across 262 plate appearances last season, though he could see an uptick in playing time with his new club given his ability to play across the infield.

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Batting Stats

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2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

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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Minor League Game Log

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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 2021

+12%

OPS vs RHP

2023

+13%

OPS vs RHP

2022

+18%

OPS vs RHP

2021

+8%

OPS vs RHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2021vs Left	.598	316	39	1	24	7	.249	.303	.295
Since 2021vs Right	.668	991	122	2	64	34	.262	.334	.334
2023vs Left	.573	50	7	0	3	1	.244	.306	.267
2023vs Right	.647	212	25	1	22	5	.228	.330	.317
2022vs Left	.490	125	12	0	6	2	.207	.264	.225
2022vs Right	.576	355	39	0	14	11	.234	.287	.289
2021vs Left	.704	141	20	1	15	4	.288	.336	.368
2021vs Right	.757	424	58	1	28	18	.304	.375	.382
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2021

+5%

OPS at Home

2023

+11%

OPS on Road

2022

+14%

OPS at Home

2021

+5%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2021Home	.668	650	91	1	46	24	.256	.334	.334
Since 2021Away	.634	657	70	2	42	17	.262	.318	.316
2023Home	.598	137	16	0	10	4	.200	.343	.255
2023Away	.663	125	16	1	15	2	.261	.306	.357
2022Home	.591	229	28	0	11	7	.237	.287	.304
2022Away	.520	251	23	0	9	6	.218	.275	.245
2021Home	.761	284	47	1	25	13	.297	.368	.394
2021Away	.726	281	31	1	18	9	.302	.363	.363
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Stat Review

How does Nicky Lopez 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

0.65

BB Rate

9.9%

K Rate

15.3%

BABIP

.276

ISO

.076

AVG

.231

OBP

.326

SLG

.307

OPS

.632

wOBA

.291

Exit Velocity

86.7 mph

Hard Hit Rate

24.2%

Barrels/PA

0.8%

Expected BA

.234

Expected SLG

.311

Sprint Speed

23.9 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

57.0%

Line Drive %

22.6%

Fly Ball %

20.4%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Nicky Lopez Prospect Ranking 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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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2022

2021

2020

2019

Lopez's 2021 season would have probably gone unnoticed if it were not for a seven-game stretch in late August when he stole eight bases. Coming into the season he had just under 600 career plate appearances with a .586 OPS, three homers, and was just 1-for-7 on the bases. He should have been an afterthought for everyone. Two changes happened. First, he raised his BABIP nearly 80 points, pushing up his AVG, OBP and SLG along with it. Not all of the change was luck since his avgEV was up two mph, and he sprayed the ball all over the field. It helps that he has a good eye as seen by an 8.7 BB% and just 13.1 K% last season. His .365 OBP is nothing to sneeze at. Second, he became a real threat on the basepaths with 22 successful swipes in 23 attempts. The combination of getting on base and stealing bases meant the Royals had him hit him second, thereby affording Lopez the chance to accumulate almost 80 runs. The big question going forward is if he's a .340 BABIP or .260 BABIP guy or somewhere in between. With Lopez's complete lack of power, he needs it to be on the high side.

Lopez has been afforded ample opportunity, but he's been unable to build on his rookie campaign. Lopez's game is contact, so while it was encouraging to see his walk rate jump to 9.4 BB% in 2020, more than doubled his mark from the previous season, a jump from a 12.7 K% to 21.4% was disappointing. Further, Lopez was thrown out all five times he attempted to steal. The lefty swinger was especially poor against lefty pitching, slashing just .162/.262/.243 in that scenario, suggesting a platoon could be in his future in 2021, albeit on the more active side. Lopez will likely be given another chance at the everyday gig at the keystone as there isn't anyone else to challenge him unless the Royals move Whit Merrifield back to the infield. At some point, Bobby Witt will be ready, likely pushing Alberto Mondesi over to second. Until then, Lopez will offer empty batting average and little else.

Lopez made his major-league debut in mid-May after putting on a plate-discipline clinic (14.5 BB%, 3.6 K%) against Triple-A pitching for the first month of the season. He took over the starting job at second base but also saw time at shortstop after Adalberto Mondesi went on the IL, making 100 starts in total. The middle infielder had a 56 wRC+ in 2019, which would have ranked dead last in MLB among qualified hitters. Lopez is a plus defender but will need to lower his 62.2 GB% and improve his 4.5 BB% if he's going to have any staying power in his sophomore campaign. He did steal 15-plus bases each year in the minors, but he had only one stolen base after being promoted in May. The Royals are in full rebuild mode and lack quality depth behind Lopez at second base, so he will likely be given a fair shot to rebound in his age-25 season. Even so, his lack of realistic counting-stat upside limits his appeal.

Lopez has risen quickly through the minor-league ranks since being drafted in the fifth round out of Creighton University in 2016. He faced little resistance at the Double-A level over the first half of the 2018 season, walking 10 more times than he struck out with a 20.6% line-drive rate, resulting in a .370 wOBA and 127 wRC+ in 325 PA. His contact rate slipped a bit with the jump to Triple-A Omaha, but his K% was still just 11.3. Lopez maintained a double-digit walk rate and his power exploded in the PCL. He hit seven homers in just 57 games with the Royals' top affiliate, only three fewer than he managed in his first 264 professional games. It was nice to see a surge in that department, but it's tough to buy into the power given he's always been north of 50 percent with his groundball rate. Lopez will already be 24 on Opening Day and is never going to be a star player, but his bat profiles just fine in the middle infield.

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