Angels' Nelson Rada: Pulling more at Triple-A
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Rada is slashing .337/.462/.442 with one home run, 17 steals, a 16.5 percent walk rate and a 15.7 percent strikeout rate in 25 games for Triple-A Salt Lake.
While he's enjoying the hitter-friendly conditions of the Pacific Coast League, Rada's been 37 percent better than league average, thanks in part to a fortunate .413 BABIP. The 5-foot-9 Rada has hit six home runs in 406 career games and has typically been an extreme slash-and-dash hitter, logging high groundball rates and high opposite-field rates. However, at Triple-A, he has a career-high 41.8 percent pull rate, which at least opens the door for some power gains in the coming years if he can make similar strides with his groundball rate (54.8 percent at Triple-A). Rada, who turned 20 in August, is an above-average defensive center fielder and the youngest player to log over 100 plate appearances at Triple-A this season.
