2023 NL East Positional Rankings: DH Edition

We’re about to enter the second full season with the designated hitter in the National League. Teams are likely to use a lot of different players at the position throughout the season to rest their legs a little bit. However, each team has one or two players who are expected to get the bulk of the time at DH this season.

In the NL East, the DH spot boasts a few guys who can slug. The Mets are projected to run with the two platoon bats they picked up last summer, the Braves seem to be shifting an All-Star backstop to the role, and the Phillies have a bat that’s feared across the league. The Nationals will call upon a career minor leaguer to prove he’s more than a flash in the pan, and the Marlins will trot out two guys with huge raw power.

No. 5 Jorge Soler & Jesús Sánchez, MIA

Jorge Soler and Jesus Sanchez are similar players in the way that they both strike out a lot but have shown that they can hit the ball a long way.

Sánchez figures to get most of the starts against righties, as he hit all 13 of his homers against them. For the season, Sánchez hit .214/.280/.403 (93 wRC+) with 13 homers, 14 doubles, 3 triples, and 36 RBIs in 343 plate appearances. Sánchez made headlines when he hit a 496-foot home run at Coors Field back in May, showing off the 70-grade raw power he received from Fangraphs. He still strikes out a lot, though he cut his strikeout rate down from 31.1% in 2021 to 26.8% in 2022. However, his walk rate also dropped to 7.6% and his .226 xBA and .383 xSLG leave much to be desired. Sánchez also struggled badly against left-handed pitching, going just 8-for-55 with only one extra-base hit and 24 strikeouts against southpaws. Sánchez’s .759 OPS against righties suggests that he could be more effective in a platoon role.

Soler meanwhile failed to live up to expectations in the first year of his three-year, $33 million contract after winning World Series MVP in 2021. Soler played in just 72 games due to injury and hit just .207/.295/.400 (98 wRC+) with 13 homers and 34 RBIs in 306 plate appearances. While he still walked in 10.1% of his plate appearances, his strikeout rate jumped to 29.6%, and ISO dipped below .200 for the first time since 2017. Soler’s 43.1% ground-ball rate was the highest it’s been since 2018, and his 43.9% hard-hit rate was the lowest since that season. Soler hit just .203 against left-handers, but he belted six homers in 69 plate appearances against them, giving him a solid .820 OPS against southpaws. If Soler stays healthy, he could be in for a bounce-back season, and he and Sánchez could supply power for a Marlins team that hit the second-fewest homers in the NL in 2022.

No. 4 Joey Meneses, WAS

After spending a decade in the minor leagues, Joey Meneses finally cracked the majors after the Nationals traded Juan Soto. Meneses was fantastic after getting the call, hitting a strong .324/.367/.563 (156 wRC+) with 13 homers, 14 doubles, and 34 RBIs in 240 plate appearances. The 30-year-old had a respectable 21.7% strikeout rate and a 47.4% hard-hit rate and was particularly great against left-handed pitching, posting a 1.084 OPS with five homers and seven doubles in 76 plate appearances against lefties.

However, there are some signs that Meneses’ magic might not sustainable over the course of a full season. He only walked at a 6.3% clip, and he had a 47.7% ground-ball rate, which isn’t a great sign for a player that doesn’t have much speed. He also had a .371 BABiP, which is probably the most unsustainable aspect of his game. Meneses’ .457 xSLG and .267 xBA are signs that he’s still an above-average hitter, but likely not a .900+ OPS bat. Even if Meneses regresses though, expect to see him in the middle of the Washington lineup this season and as of right now, it wouldn’t be too surprising if he’s their representative in the All-Star Game.

No. 3 Daniel Vogelbach & Darin Ruf, NYM

The Mets acquired both Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf to help bolster their lineup last summer and they produced two drastically different results.

Vogelbach was solid in 55 games after coming over from Pittsburgh, batting .255/.393/.436 (139 OPS+) with six homers, nine doubles, and 25 RBIs in 183 plate appearances. Vogelbach owned a very impressive 18% walk rate after coming over and his 20.5% chase rate ranked in the 94th percentile of MLB. However, Vogelbach’s numbers were hurt by his 45.5% zone swing percentage, 32.2% swing rate, and 12.8% first-pitch swing percentage. Vogelbach also struggled badly against lefties, going just 10-for-72 with only one extra-base hit against them. However, he was very strong against right-handed pitching, hitting .261/.382/.497 with 18 homers, 18 doubles, and 52 RBIs in 377 plate appearances against righties.

Ruf on the other hand struggled mightily after arriving in Flushing. He hit just .152/.216/.197 with only three extra-base hits and drew just five walks in 74 plate appearances. However, even after his disastrous finish to the season, Ruf finished the year with a respectable .753 OPS in 183 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, and he owns a career .891 OPS against lefties. ZiPS projects Ruf to be a 111 wRC+ bat in 2023, which would be a huge boost to a lineup that lacked a strong DH against left-handed pitching. If Ruf can return to form in some way, he could form a strong tandem with Vogelbach. If Ruf struggles again, expect to see Francisco Álvarez get more at-bats at DH.

No. 2 Travis d’Arnaud & Marcell Ozuna, ATL

It’s not often you see a Gold Glove finalist get moved to the DH spot, but with the Braves acquiring Sean Murphy, Travis d’Arnaud is expected to see a lot of time in the role. In his age-33 season, d’Arnaud had a nice bounce-back season offensively, hitting .268/.319/.472 (120 wRC+) with 18 homers, 25 doubles, and 60 RBIs in 426 plate appearances. While he walked in just 4.5% of his plate appearances, d’Arnaud’s strikeout rate dropped to 21.1%, which is the lowest it’s been since 2017. Furthermore, d’Arnaud’s ISO rose to .205, which is the highest it’s been over the course of a full season.

When d’Arnaud is behind the plate, Marcell Ozuna is slated to get some at-bats at DH. Ozuna is coming off another disappointing season on and off the field, which included an arrest for a DUI. On the field, Ozuna hit just .226/.274/.413 (89 wRC+) with 23 homers and 56 RBIs in 507 plate appearances. Ozuna struck out in a career-worst 24.1% of his plate appearances and his 89 wRC+ was the lowest mark he’s recorded in a full season. Furthermore, Ozuna’s negative-0.6 fWAR marks the first time he’s dipped below replacement level over the course of a full season. Ozuna also disappeared in the Braves’ NLDS loss to the Phillies, going 0-for-8 with four strikeouts. He did show some signs of life over the last few weeks of the regular season though, hitting .321/.368/.535 in 16 games in September and October. Even if Ozuna struggles again, the Braves have a couple of other formidable options in Sean Murphy and Vaughn Grissom to assist d’Arnaud.

No. 1 Bryce Harper, PHI

Bryce Harper underwent Tommy John surgery in November, meaning he will likely miss most of, if not the entire first half of this season. Still, Harper is by far the most dangerous bat of the DHs in the NL East. He missed time due to injuries and played through a torn UCL in 2022, but he still posted a strong .286/.364/.519 (138 wRC+) batting line with 18 homers, 28 doubles, and 65 RBIs in 426 plate appearances. While his 10.8% walk rate is his lowest mark since 2014, Harper’s 20.4% strikeout rate is the lowest he’s had in a non-Covid shortened year since 2017.

Harper’s batted-ball data remained strong, as his .380 xwOBA, .288 xBA, and .527 xSLG all ranked in the top three percent of MLB, while he ranked in the 92nd percentile of average exit velocity. The only real knock against Harper is that his chase rate spiked to a career-high 35.7%, but his whiff rate fell to 28.2%. Harper took his dominance to another level in the postseason, hitting a scalding .349/.414/.746 with six homers, seven doubles, and 13 RBIs in 71 plate appearances, winning NLCS MVP and helping the Phillies reach the World Series. When he returns to the Phillies’ lineup this summer, it’s going to be very difficult for opponents to pitch to them.