Yasmani Grandal

Yasmani Grandal

36-Year-Old CatcherC
 Free Agent  
Free Agent
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Grandal lost playing time down the stretch last season and and finished with a .234/.309/.339 slash line over 405 plate appearances. Though he was once an upper-tier fantasy catcher, Grandal is clearly on the downside of his career, as he's posted a lowly 74 wRC+ over the past two seasons. In Pittsburgh, Grandal projects to see a couple of starts per week behind the plate as young backstop Henry Davis' primary backup. The switch-hitting Grandal has typically performed better against left-handed pitching throughout his career, so he could also be deployed as a short-side platoon option at first base or at designated hitter. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#422
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Pirates in February of 2024.
Slugs ninth homer
CPittsburgh Pirates  
September 28, 2024
Grandal went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored in Saturday's 9-4 win over the Yankees.
ANALYSIS
The veteran catcher got the Pirates' offense going with a solo shot off Luis Gil in the second inning, one of five long balls by Pittsburgh on the afternoon. It's Grandal's first multi-hit performance since Aug. 21, and his first three-hit effort since Aug. 4. On the season, the 35-year-old sports a .228/.304/.400 slash line with nine homers and 27 RBI in 215 plate appearances.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
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2017
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
3
14
17
12
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
3
6
5
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+13%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+29%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+8%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+53%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .692 249 18 4 20 1 .242 .343 .349
Since 2022vs Right .614 775 56 18 67 1 .214 .292 .322
2024vs Left .579 60 5 0 5 0 .236 .288 .291
2024vs Right .747 183 21 9 22 1 .225 .309 .438
2023vs Left .685 96 10 3 9 0 .233 .313 .372
2023vs Right .636 309 23 5 24 0 .235 .307 .329
2022vs Left .773 93 3 1 6 1 .257 .409 .365
2022vs Right .506 283 12 4 21 0 .186 .265 .241
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+1%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+33%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+14%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+10%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .629 489 34 9 34 0 .214 .307 .322
Since 2022Away .636 535 40 13 53 2 .227 .302 .334
2024Home .803 123 15 5 14 0 .243 .336 .467
2024Away .605 120 11 4 13 1 .213 .271 .333
2023Home .601 177 11 3 10 0 .219 .288 .313
2023Away .684 228 22 5 23 0 .246 .325 .360
2022Home .541 189 8 1 10 0 .191 .307 .235
2022Away .597 187 7 4 17 1 .212 .294 .303
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Yasmani Grandal 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
0.52
 
BB Rate
9.9%
 
K Rate
18.9%
 
BABIP
.248
 
ISO
.172
 
AVG
.228
 
OBP
.304
 
SLG
.400
 
OPS
.704
 
wOBA
.312
 
Exit Velocity
91.1 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
35.8%
 
Barrels/PA
7.0%
 
Expected BA
.246
 
Expected SLG
.419
 
Sprint Speed
20.8 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
45.9%
 
Line Drive %
17.6%
 
Fly Ball %
36.5%
 
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 Yasmani Grandal See More
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82 days ago
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Weekly Hitter Rankings: Playing for Both Sides
89 days ago
Bobby Witt and the Royals play eight games the week of August 26 to September 1, making them a top team in Todd Zola's weekly hitter rankings.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
Grandal was not expected to repeat 2021's career year but following it up with his worst season ever was a surprise. To be fair, hamstring, back and knee issues hampered him all season with lower back spasm requiring a month-long IL visit. Grandal's exit velocity, Barrel rate, and hard-hit rate all fell precipitously. He maintained solid plate skills but hitting the ball with far less authority torpedoed his batting average and slugging to career lows. Grandal's defense also suffered, which does not bode well for playing time since his bat is no longer worthy of designated hitter or first base action. Grandal isn't over the hill at 34-years-old. However, since 2014, only three backstops have caught more innings and the squatting could be catching up. Even if he starts, Grandal's playing time is earmarked to drop. He's still in play in two-catcher leagues, but he's now lumped in with the back-end dregs.
Grandal's 2021 season can be split by an IL trip in early July for a torn tendon in his knee. He dealt with some knee problems in spring training and they continued until the tear. Before going on the injured list, he was hitting .188/.388/.436 with 14 homers in 246 plate appearances. While the production was fine in points or on-base leagues, the batting average was a killer in standard roto leagues. After returning from the IL, he hit .337/.481/.673 with nine HR in 129 PA. One of the biggest changes was dropping his strikeout rate from approximately 26% to 14%. While there were two distinct halves, his final stats were right in line with his career numbers. The key here is to possibly buy into the second half. Even with the knee struggles, he blew away his career highs in avgEV, Barrel%, HardHit% and HR/FB%. Pay for the steady year-over-year production knowing the elite, healthy version is hiding.
In the context of where Grandal was drafted in fantasy leagues heading into 2020 -- around pick 95 on average in the NFBC as the No. 3 catcher off the board -- his first season with the White Sox was a disappointment. Grandal finished as the No. 8 catcher in roto with a .230 BA, eight HR, 27 runs and 27 RBI. In real baseball, he was everything Chicago could have hoped for as he drew walks at a 15.5% clip and was a significant plus in regards to defense and pitch framing. Grandal tied for second at the catcher position in fWAR with J.T. Realmuto and Austin Nola at 1.7, trailing only Salvador Perez. Grandal is always going whiff, but the walks, power and defense more than make up for it, and James McCann is gone, potentially leading to even more playing time for Grandal. If you want to avoid the wasteland at catcher, Grandal is a fine option whose stats get a scarcity bump in two-catcher leagues.
Grandal bet on himself in 2019, eschewing a multi-year offer from the Mets in favor of a one-year pact with the Brewers. The gamble paid off, as he had the best season of his career and signed an even better long-term deal with the White Sox this past offseason. With the Brewers, Grandal set career highs in all of HR, RBI and SB. A career-high 513 AB certainly helped, but his numbers were supported by some nice underlying stats, as he hit lefties (.926 OPS) better than ever and finished with the best walk rate of his career. The added playing time may have caused some wear, as Grandal's OPS was over 100 points worse after the break, but he will be 1B-eligible in 2020 as a result, and in the AL he should DH more often than play first when he's not catching. If the at-bats remain steady, Grandal could hit even more homers on the South Side in a park that was one of the most favorable for HR in 2019.
For the second straight year, Grandal lost time to Austin Barnes down the stretch and into the playoffs, despite being one of the most productive backstops during the regular season. He won't have to worry about that this season after inking a one-year, $18.25 million deal with the Brewers. Grandal has cracked 73 homers the last three seasons, second most among all catchers, and his new home park could help him top his career high of 27 from 2016. Grandal's 23.9 K% and 18.8 Oppo% cap his average in standard leagues, but his 13.9 BB% pushes him up draft boards in OBP and points formats. Despite not being trusted in the playoffs, Grandal's glove grades out positive by most metrics (nine defensive runs saved). He's also among the most durable at the position, averaging 128 games the past five seasons, including a career-best 140 last year. Milwaukee is a dream landing spot, as it ensures a heavy workload with a park upgrade.
Where Grandal stands with the Dodgers' brass is unclear. After being the bell cow backstop for much of the season, a second-half swoon dropped him into a September platoon. In the playoffs, Grandal only started twice, pinch-hitting in another pair of games. The reason wasn’t defense as Grandal rated well with the leather. Unfortunately, he slumped at the same time Austin Barnes got hot, coinciding with the Dodgers needing an offensive spark. For the season, Grandal’s numbers were basically as expected, fueled by a .267/.319/.469 first half. Coming off a 2016 season with a career-best 25.2 percent HF/FB, he reverted to 17.7 percent. Grandal displayed marked platoon splits, unusual for a switch hitter, slashing just .233/.320/.349 versus southpaws. Grandal’s exit velocity and barrels dropped considerably from 2016, likely from his troubles with left-handers. Still just 29 years old, Grandal is too good to be a backup, plus Barnes is able to play other positions, so at a minimum, Grandal should play against right-handed pitching.
Grandal was having a great season until he got injured in 2015, so for 2016, he mixed things up and got injured, then had a great season. Grandal had a brutal beginning to his campaign, ending the month of June hitting .179/.292/.347 after playing through the pain of forearm, wrist, and foot injuries. And then, he got better. From July 1 to the end of the season he hit .267/.376/.581 with 20 homers, superb numbers for a catcher. At his best, Grandal controls the strike zone like few hitters and simply crushes the ball when he makes contact, though he's still whiff-prone with a 22.9 percent career strikeout rate. There's little doubt that Grandal is an excellent player with rare value in OBP leagues when healthy, the problem is he's not healthy very often and will frequently play through injuries, even if they hurt his numbers. He enters 2017 as the clear starter in L.A. at catcher, with only Austin Barnes behind him to get an occasional start against lefties.
Grandal entered the 2015 season in a tough spot with the "we got THIS guy as the centerpiece for Matt Kemp?" label firmly attached to fans' expectations. Grandal put those whispers firmly to rest in the first half of the season, batting a robust .282/.401/.526 and making his first All-Star appearance. It all went south after that however, as a sore left shoulder was likely a major contributor to an awful second half that saw Grandal hit a meager.162/.280/.215. It's unlikely that Grandal simply forgot how to hit, but he'll certainly enter 2016 with something to prove. Grandal underwent shoulder surgery in October, and while no definitive timetable is known, he should head to spring training fully healthy and in a position to be the team's Opening Day catcher. Given his first half heroics and second-half fade, Grandal could be a good buy low with the chance of huge rewards if he can stay consistent and healthy over the course of a full season. A forearm issue slowed him late in camp, and brings a little added risk to the table.
Strife characterized Grandal’s 2013 season, which was abbreviated due to a 50-game suspension to start the year and concluded with a gruesome ACL tear in July. While the injury legitimately threatened his Opening Night availability last season, he bucked all expectations and landed on the 25-man roster, making his first appearance behind the dish in the second game. As a precaution, the Padres carried three catchers well into May, but with no indication of a setback to Grandal’s right knee, Nick Hundley was dealt to the Orioles on May 24. The move provided Grandal and Rene Rivera with an equal share of the nods, but as the season wound on, the former garnered sporadic starts at first base due to Yonder Alonso’s season-ending forearm injury and to ease stress on Grandal’s surgically-repaired knee. Ultimately, Grandal worked his way into a near everyday role at first, which coincided with the end of his season-long battle with the Mendoza Line. Entering Aug. 24 with a miserable .204/.302/.376 line, he thereafter displayed his prowess at the plate, batting .283 with five home runs, 21 RBI, 19 runs scored, and a 20:35 BB:K in 130 at-bats. Traded to the Dodgers as part of the Matt Kemp deal in December, Grandal should benefit from having a more talented lineup around him in Los Angeles. Look for him to take over as the team's primary catcher.
After serving a 50-game suspension to start the year for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, Grandal took over catching duties from Nick Hundley, fitting in 28 contests before sustaining a season-ending ACL tear in July. One month passed before Grandal underwent a full reconstruction of the ACL in his right knee, which typically requires 9-to-12 months in order to recover fully. Despite stated optimism that he'll be ready for spring training, the Padres ultimately have the final word on his rehab, and he's hardly a lock to be ready for Opening Day. In his absence, Hundley will continue to don a catcher's mask, with Rene Rivera acting as depth.
First the bad, Grandal was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for a performance enhancing substance in November. Now the good, whatever price most owners were set to pay for him in 2013, this recent news likely slashes that in half, if not further. It's impossible to say what, if any, effect the substance that Grandal was using had on his 2012 performance. What we do know is that as a rookie, he showed a good eye at the plate and can hit for power as he hit .268/.368/.392 in one of the toughest venues for hitters, Petco Park. These numbers come from a small sample size (114 plate appearances) as he spent half of his 2012 season in the minors. How he'll spend his 2013 season will largely depend on how he responds to his suspension and how his teammates perform early on in his place, but there's reason to believe he'll reprise his role as the Padres' primary catcher after his 50-game absence.
The Reds were in an enviable position to have two high-ceiling catching prospects in the system in Grandal and Devin Mesoraco. That depth was leveraged with the acquisition of Mat Latos in December, which made Grandal the catcher of the future in San Diego. Grandal progressed from High-A to Triple-A at the end of last season, though an injured left hand ended a campaign in the Arizona Fall League. It may not take him long to supplant Nick Hundley with his new organization. He eventually projects as a high-average hitter with the potential to hit 20 homers at the major league level.
Many draft experts considered Grandal to be a potential top-five pick in last year's Rule 4 draft, but he slipped to the Reds at No. 12 overall due to signability concerns. For the second year in a row, the Reds broke ranks with recent history by going over slot to sign Grandal much like they did Yonder Alonso the year before. Grandal will be on the fast track for the Reds, as he can hit for both power and average and is considered to be a smooth defensive catcher. Devin Mesoraco will probably reach the majors before Grandal, but Grandal has the higher ceiling.
More Fantasy News
Starting, but likely to lose work
CPittsburgh Pirates  
September 9, 2024
Grandal will start at catcher and bat seventh in Monday's game against the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
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Eight-game hitting streak
CPittsburgh Pirates  
September 6, 2024
Grandal went 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Nationals.
ANALYSIS
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Taking seat Sunday
CPittsburgh Pirates  
September 1, 2024
Grandal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
ANALYSIS
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Resting Saturday
CPittsburgh Pirates  
August 31, 2024
Grandal isn't in Pittsburgh's lineup for Saturday's game versus Cleveland.
ANALYSIS
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Launches walk-off homer
CPittsburgh Pirates  
August 25, 2024
Grandal went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Sunday's 4-3 win over the Reds.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Dropping in order
CChicago White Sox  
June 7, 2022
Grandal has appeared sixth or lower in Chicago's lineup in the last four games.
ANALYSIS
Grandal hit sixth or lower twice in his first 40 starts but has hit sixth or seventh in each of his last four contests. The veteran is 3-for-37 with no extra-base hits and 16 strikeouts in his last 10 games and has a .487 OPS on the season. Last season, his average was below .200 through July but he hit for much more power and walked an incredible 23.2 percent of the time. This season he has just four extra-base hits and his walk rate has declined to 13.4 percent. It seems likely he'll continue to hit lower in the lineup and may receive more off days if his production does not improve.
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