Chapman projects as the everyday third baseman and No. 7 hitter in the coming season despite a difficult spring, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.
Chapman hasn't exactly had the most encouraging of springs, dealing with a hand injury early and generating a .179 average with three doubles, one home run and five RBI over 43 plate appearances across 15 games. However, he'll get an immediate chance to begin building on a respectable rookie campaign, one that saw him slash .234/.313/.472 with 39 extra-base hits (23 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs). Whittling down a 28.2 percent strikeout rate and boosting a .313 OBP figure to be two priorities entering 2018, with improvement in both areas likely to result in an appreciable uptick in his metrics across the board.