Laureano began the 2019 season in a starting role in center field, but a leg injury kept him out for the entire month of July and limited his playing time down the stretch. He showed improved power at the dish, finishing the year with a .288/.340/.521 slash line, 24 long balls, 67 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 123 games. His 25.6 K% and 5.9 BB% are mildly concerning -- the latter being down from 9.1% in 2018 -- though he made the most of his contact, with his xBA and xSLG ranking in the 70th percentile or above. Keep in mind too that it was his first full season in the major leagues. The 25-year-old runs extremely well and has an elite throwing arm in the outfield. Laureano is on track to begin spring training at full strength and will once again slot in as an everyday player in 2020. He has the tools to make up for shaky plate discipline and could become a big difference maker in rotisserie baseball. Read Past Outlooks

$Signed a one-year, $557,500 contract with the Athletics in March of 2019.

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.

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

Laureano burst onto the scene in August, turning heads with his bat and cannon of an arm. The 24-year-old quickly turned into Oakland's everyday center fielder and finished the season with a 129 wRC+ -- a mark that would have tied for fourth with Tommy Pham among qualified MLB center fielders. Granted, he had a 28.4% strikeout rate and .388 BABIP, which suggest he was playing a little over his head. Even when factoring in regression, Laureano still looks the part of an everyday player, especially given his defensive value. He hits the ball to all fields and did not show significant lefty/righty splits at Triple-A or in the majors, so he should hit at least .250 with double-digit home runs. A plus runner, Laureano was caught just three times on 21 stolen-base attempts last season, so he should push for 15-to-20 steals if he stays relatively healthy. Given his strong debut, he won't be available in the end game, but is a reasonable OF4 in 15-team leagues.

One of the top pop-up prospects of 2016, Laureano capped his breakout campaign by wowing scouts with consistent loud contact in the Arizona Fall League. This brief yet impressive showing helped alleviate concerns about batting averages over .400 on balls in play at stops at High-A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi. Laureano's combined .319/.428/.528 slash line will not be sustainable as he moves to more neutral hitting environments and his BABIP normalizes. The general consensus, however, says he has at least an average hit tool, which, coupled with plus speed and a good eye at the plate, might be enough for him to make it as an everyday player. He stole 43 bases at a 75.4 percent success rate last year, but his speed projects more comfortably in the 20-steal range over a full season against big league batteries. That speed could be complemented by average raw power. He also walked 70 times in 116 games last year and might profile atop a mediocre lineup.