Richie Palacios

Richie Palacios

27-Year-Old Second Baseman2B
Tampa Bay Rays
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Tampa Bay loves versatile players, so it was not surprising to see them acquire Palacios before the 2024 season began. Palacios lost a good chunk of the summer to a knee injury, but finished the season playing at five different positions and has dual-eligibity during draft season. His 2024 season was all over the place statisticially as he hit for a much better average against lefties when he faced them, but all his homers came against righties. Arguably his best stat was his baserunning as he was 19 for 20 in his stolen base attempts and is now 23 of 24 for his career. He has good plate discipline and a season with approximately 90 games of Yankee Stadium dimensions could help him show some of his untapped power. He has never had a double-digit homer season, but it wouldn't surprise us to see him go 10-20 while playing in multiple spots on the field. We won't fault you if you are getting some 2008 Ben Zobrist vibes here, because we are too. Just don't get greedy expecting a 2009 Zorilla-like season. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a one-year contract with the Rays in March of 2024.
Returns from injured list
2BTampa Bay Rays
September 23, 2024
The Rays activated Palacios (knee) from the 10-day injured list Monday.
ANALYSIS
Palacios has been sidelined since early August with a right knee sprain but has been cleared to return after playing five rehab games with Triple-A Durham. The 27-year-old could see a few starts in the final week between second base and the outfield.
Read More News
Batting Stats
Loading Batting Stats...
2024
2023
2022
2024 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2023 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2022 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Batting Game Log...
Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
12
9
6
11
23
6
4
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+35%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+2%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+56%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+18%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .880 57 7 2 6 4 .327 .411 .469
Since 2022vs Right .652 483 55 9 41 19 .221 .317 .336
2024vs Left .676 31 5 0 3 3 .286 .355 .321
2024vs Right .663 284 41 5 18 16 .216 .345 .318
2023vs Left 1.158 20 2 2 3 1 .421 .421 .737
2023vs Right .740 82 7 4 13 1 .216 .280 .459
2022vs Left .667 6 0 0 0 0 .000 .667 .000
2022vs Right .564 117 7 0 10 2 .236 .274 .291
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+33%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+34%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+45%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+16%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .580 267 30 3 17 10 .197 .297 .283
Since 2022Away .771 273 32 8 30 13 .267 .355 .415
2024Home .567 153 20 1 6 9 .191 .307 .260
2024Away .759 162 26 4 15 10 .256 .383 .376
2023Home .671 51 4 2 7 0 .217 .280 .391
2023Away .972 51 5 4 9 2 .298 .333 .638
2022Home .536 63 6 0 4 1 .196 .286 .250
2022Away .621 60 1 0 6 1 .268 .300 .321
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Richie Palacios 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
0.67
 
BB Rate
14.3%
 
K Rate
21.3%
 
BABIP
.280
 
ISO
.095
 
AVG
.223
 
OBP
.346
 
SLG
.318
 
OPS
.664
 
wOBA
.305
 
Exit Velocity
86.2 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
20.7%
 
Barrels/PA
2.2%
 
Expected BA
.249
 
Expected SLG
.342
 
Sprint Speed
22.9 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
37.9%
 
Line Drive %
26.8%
 
Fly Ball %
35.4%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
Loading Advanced Batting Stats...
Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
Loading Games Played by Position...
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Batted Ball Stats
Loading Batted Ball Stats...
Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Richie Palacios See More
The Z Files: What It Takes
98 days ago
Todd Zola provides some data to help you determine whether even Aaron Judge is capable of slugging your team into contention over the season's final stretch.
Lineup Lowdown: American League
126 days ago
Joey Loperfido has regularly hit second for his new team, the Blue Jays, one of many changes to American League lineups since the trade deadline.
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
135 days ago
Erik Siegrist reviews the waiver wire in the American League ahead of the trade deadline, as Jazz Chisholm prepares to make his debut with the Yankees.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Crazy Eights for the O's
136 days ago
The Orioles are the only team with an eight-game schedule this week, giving fantasy managers with Baltimore players like Gunnar Henderson a huge advantage.
MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Thursday, July 25
138 days ago
The splits are in his favor Thursday, making Freddie Freeman one of the top bats to roster in DraftKings MLB DFS contests.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
The Cardinals picked up Palacios from the Guardians in a trade in June and promoted him to the majors in August. The 26-year-old proved to be a spark down the stretch of St. Louis' lost season, collecting an .823 OPS with six home runs and a couple stolen bases in 102 plate appearances. The elite contact ability Palacios showed in the minors carried over, as well, as he struck out at just a 10.8 percent clip. Palacios also drew walks at a 15.7 percent rate last season at the Triple-A level, but that part didn't translate in the majors (5.9 percent). The 14 homers Palacios hit between the majors and minors in 2023 nearly doubled his pro total coming into the year, and his poor quality of contact at both levels suggests it's unlikely to be repeated. Palacios looks like a viable bench piece, though, with his contact skills and ability to play second base and all three outfield spots.
Palacios' path to the majors is currently blocked, as the Guardians likely have their starting outfield set. He's in a position to battle with Will Benson and Will Brennan for a reserve role to begin 2023. Palacios' 2022 was a fine campaign -- he slashed .279/.371/.458 in 45 games with Triple-A Columbus. He spent more time in the majors, getting into 54 contests but logging just 123 plate appearances with a .232/.293/.286 slash line. Power won't be what makes the lefty hitter stick in the majors -- he's got good plate discipline and can provide some speed. He'll still need to hit consistently, which could be tough if he doesn't see much playing time.
Palacios was one of the better stories in the minors last season. He missed all of 2019 with a major shoulder injury that required surgery and was left to work out by himself in 2020, but he was so good in his return to action that the Guardians added him to the 40-man roster after the season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter slashed .297/.404/.471 with seven home runs and 20 steals (on 23 attempts) in 103 games between Double-A and Triple-A. The most impressive aspect of his profile as it pertains to future big-league success is the 16.4 K% and 13.6 BB% he logged while using the whole field (Pull% under 40%). The main thing he lacks is impact power, but he has plus speed and a potentially plus hit tool. Palacios saw most of his time at second base, but he also played some center field and left field and played exclusively in the outfield during the Arizona Fall League, which is where he will likely get work in Cleveland this year, although he will enter the year with a 2B designation in fantasy. The outfield depth chart is fairly wide open, so he should get his chance sometime this summer.
More Fantasy News
Starting rehab assignment
2BTampa Bay Rays
Knee
September 17, 2024
Palacios (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Tuesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Ramping up
2BTampa Bay Rays
Knee
August 31, 2024
Palacios (knee) resumed on-field activities Friday, MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Set to miss at least four weeks
2BTampa Bay Rays
Knee
August 2, 2024
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Friday that Palacios will miss 4-to-6 weeks due to a right knee sprain, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Heads to IL with sprained knee
2BTampa Bay Rays
Knee
August 2, 2024
The Rays placed Palacios on the 10-day injured list Friday with a right knee sprain, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Will head to IL
2BTampa Bay Rays
Knee
August 1, 2024
The Rays are expected to place Palacios on the injured list Friday with a hyperextended right knee, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could be dealt to Rays soon
2BSt. Louis Cardinals
January 5, 2024
The Rays are in serious discussions to acquire Palacios from the Cardinals in exchange for Andrew Kittredge, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
ANALYSIS
Palacios played well for the Cards down the stretch in 2023, slashing .258/.307/.516 with six homers and two steals in 32 games. The 26-year-old can play all over the outfield and at second base, offering the Rays the versatility they're always seeking. Palacios is under team control through 2029.
See All MLB Rumors