Paul DeJong

31-Year-Old ShortstopSS

Washington Nationals

10-Day IL

Injury Nose

Est. Return 4/26/2025

2025 Stats

AVG

.204

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2025 Fantasy Outlook

The veteran infielder joined the White Sox on a one-year deal in November of 2023, and he was unsurprisingly shipped out at the trade deadline. DeJong was similarly productive with both Chicago and Kansas City, finishing with 24 home runs, a 32.4 percent strikeout rate and .227/.276/.427 slash line in 139 total games. He saw significant action at third base for the first time in his big-league career, though he still had most of his playing time at shortstop, especially prior to the trade. DeJong's defense at shortstop has long been lauded, but he produced minus-nine Defensive Runs Saved and minus-one Outs Above Average playing there in 2024, compared to a plus-one DRS and plus-five OAA at third base. Teams could view him as more of a third baseman than shortstop as a result, which would decrease his value a bit since shortstop is the more valuable position for his power. DeJong isn't likely to land a regular role with any contending teams this winter, but he could again carve out some playing time on a rebuilding club with the potential of being traded once again. His upside is limited beyond the home runs, and he's likely to be a drag in batting average. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

Rest of Season

From Preseason

#404

ADP

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'0"

Weight 209

DOB 8/2/1993

Born Orlando, FL

College Illinois State

Drafted 4th Rd 2015 STL

Released from hospital

SSWashington Nationals

Nose

April 16, 2025

DeJong (nose) was held overnight at a Pittsburgh hospital for observation but was released Wednesday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

ANALYSIS
DeJong was hit in the face by a pitch in Tuesday's game versus the Pirates and was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a fractured nose. The Nationals are hopeful DeJong isn't dealing with any additional injuries, but they won't know for sure until the swelling around his eye goes down. Amed Rosario is at third base for Washington on Wednesday and should see the bulk of the time there while DeJong is out.

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Batting Stats

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2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

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2024 MLB Game Log

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2023 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2023

+10%

OPS vs RHP

2025

+264%

OPS vs RHP

2024

+18%

OPS vs RHP

2023

+5%

OPS vs LHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2023vs Left	.607	254	26	8	24	1	.198	.268	.339
Since 2023vs Right	.669	685	72	30	72	7	.224	.266	.404
2025vs Left	.167	12	0	0	0	0	.000	.167	.000
2025vs Right	.608	45	3	0	2	2	.250	.267	.341
2024vs Left	.621	123	15	5	12	0	.198	.260	.360
2024vs Right	.730	359	39	19	44	2	.237	.281	.449
2023vs Left	.635	119	11	3	12	1	.217	.286	.349
2023vs Right	.603	281	30	11	26	3	.203	.246	.357
More Splits→	View More Split Stats
Minor League Splits→	View Minor League Split Stats

Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2023

+15%

OPS on Road

2025

+82%

OPS at Home

2024

+10%

OPS on Road

2023

+36%

OPS on Road

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2023Home	.604	439	43	14	42	3	.211	.248	.356
Since 2023Away	.697	500	55	24	54	5	.223	.282	.415
2025Home	.669	29	2	0	1	1	.250	.276	.393
2025Away	.368	28	1	0	1	1	.154	.214	.154
2024Home	.667	232	22	9	27	1	.232	.263	.405
2024Away	.737	250	32	15	29	1	.222	.288	.449
2023Home	.510	178	19	5	14	1	.176	.225	.285
2023Away	.694	222	22	9	24	3	.232	.284	.411
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Stat Review

How does Paul DeJong 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

0.08

BB Rate

3.5%

K Rate

42.1%

BABIP

.367

ISO

.074

AVG

.204

OBP

.246

SLG

.278

OPS

.523

wOBA

.235

Exit Velocity

89.2 mph

Hard Hit Rate

30.0%

Barrels/PA

1.8%

Expected BA

.190

Expected SLG

.258

Sprint Speed

22.4 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

30.0%

Line Drive %

30.0%

Fly Ball %

40.0%

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

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Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

DeJong struggled mightily in 2023 while bouncing between three organization, hitting just .207 with a .612 OPS in 400 plate appearances with the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Giants. The veteran shortstop signed a one-year deal with the White Sox in November where he'll battle Nicky Lopez and Braden Shewmake for the starting role. The bat seems to be waning each year for DeJong, but he remains a solid defensive shortstop who ultimately may just be keeping the spot warm for top prospect Colson Montgomery's inevitable callup in 2024.

After losing the starting job at shortstop to Edmundo Sosa late in 2021, DeJong regained the job in spring training. It did not last long, however, as DeJong was sent down in May following a .130/.209/.208 start to his season. A National League All-Star in 2019, DeJong's strikeouts have climbed in recent years while his rate power has cratered, leaving the Cardinals little choice but to look for a successor. DeJong would smack 17 homers in just 51 games with Triple-A Memphis while trimming his strikeout rate 10 percentage points from his mark at the major-league level, but his struggled continued after his return to the majors. He's due north of $9 million in 2023 in the final year of the extension he signed with St. Louis in 2018. The team may eat that sunk cost outright if DeJong can't do enough in camp to convince the club he can be a capable backup around the infield.

DeJong followed up his power outage in 2020 with an equally disappointing 2021 campaign. A .216 BABIP had a lot to do with a bleak .197 batting average, but there were deeper reasons for concern. The most troubling part of DeJong's 2021 profile was a steep drop in average exit velocity, which tumbled to 86.3 mph - eighth percentile in the league. It would be tempting to blame a side injury that landed him on the injured list in mid-May, but that theory falls apart when considering that he was hitting just .177/.277/.371 across 141 plate appearances to begin the season. After splitting time with Edmundo Sosa in the final months of the campaign, and assuming the Cardinals don't make any moves to upgrade the position, DeJong should have the opportunity to earn back the starting role. However, drafting him for anything more than mediocre power with otherwise empty production would be a mistake.

DeJong provided most of his value in his first three big-league seasons by having above-average power for a shortstop, averaging just shy of 25 homers per year. That power collapsed in 2020, as he homered just three times in 45 games. Without the pop, he didn't offer much at the plate, hitting a modest .250/.322/.349, good for a career-low 86 wRC+. Even the positives in his statline -- his average and on-base percentage each represented his best mark since his rookie season -- came with reasons for skepticism, as his BABIP shot up to .340. That seems unlikely to stick next season, as he produced a career-low 7.5% barrel rate and a career-high 21.7 degree launch angle. (Flyballs tend to come with lower BABIPs.) DeJong needs to get nearly all of his power back this season to be an interesting fantasy option, especially as he's now stolen precisely one base in three of his four MLB campaigns.

DeJong is a perfect encapsulation of the 2019 season. He hit 30 HR, scored 97 runs, stole nine bases, and by wRC+, he was exactly league average at 100. Normally a shortstop hitting 30 homers is something to celebrate, yet what DeJong did last year was not that special. He has an odd trend going in that his strikeout rate has improved each of the past three seasons, but his batting average has dropped in each of the past three seasons -- more than 50 points from his rookie year. He laughs at traditional splits because 27 of his 30 homers last year came off right-handed pitching and he had a worse batting average against southpaws. The season DeJong had last year harkens back to an old fantasy favorite -- Tony Batista. Go look up Batista's 2002 season, and then look at the range of outcomes for him after that season. A similar future is in store for DeJong if something doesn't change.

Coming off a surprising rookie season, DeJong's sophomore campaign was a mixed bag. He missed nearly two months after fracturing his left hand via a hit-by-pitch May 17. At the time, DeJong was sporting a reasonable .824 OPS with eight long balls. After his July 6 return, DeJong struggled, failing to hit a homer until July 25, registering a meek .550 OPS in that span. From that point on, DeJong's power returned (11 home runs), but he reached base at a poor 30% clip. DeJong carried over his 2017 elevated flyball rate, while his HR/FB dropped a few points, perhaps a result of the hand injury, though his hard-hit rate remained above average. While his below-average contact rate and low walk rate render DeJong a batting-average liability, there's reason for optimism as his plate skills improved last season and were masked by a low BABIP. DeJong should be the everyday shortstop, and the power isn't a question.

In one of the biggest surprises of the 2017 season, DeJong led the Cardinals in home runs and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. A fourth-round selection in 2015, he was largely unheralded in the prospect community, having posted an underwhelming .260/.324/.460 line at the Double-A level in 2016. He garnered little buzz upon his initial promotion to the majors in late May, but DeJong solidified his spot in the everyday lineup and in the three hole in the batting order in less than two months. There are some obvious red flags, namely his 28 percent strikeout rate and 4.7 percent walk rate, but DeJong's ability to get the ball in the air consistently bodes well for his power production moving forward. Speed is not part of the package, but DeJong qualifies at shortstop and second base and the bat is probably a little better than most will give him credit for even after the strong debut.

More Fantasy News

Goes on IL with fractured nose

SSWashington Nationals

Nose

April 16, 2025

The Nationals placed DeJong on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a fractured nose, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

ANALYSIS
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Expected to go on injured list

SSWashington Nationals

Face

April 16, 2025

The Nationals are likely to place DeJong (face) on the 10-day injured list, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

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Exits after being hit in face

SSWashington Nationals

Face

April 15, 2025

DeJong exited Tuesday's contest against the Pirates in the top of the sixth inning after being hit in the face by a pitch, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

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Getting breather Friday

SSWashington Nationals

April 4, 2025

DeJong is not in the lineup for Friday's contest against the Diamondbacks.

ANALYSIS
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Three hits in Sunday's win

SSWashington Nationals

March 31, 2025

DeJong went 3-for-3 with two doubles in Sunday's win over the Phillies.

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Latest Fantasy Rumors

Significant incentives from WAS

SSWashington Nationals

February 18, 2025

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, DeJong's one-year, $1 million contract with the Nationals includes up to $600,000 of additional incentives.

ANALYSIS
The 31-year-old's one-year deal with the White Sox last year was for $1.75 million plus incentives, and the contract with the Nationals fits for his outlook as a fringe starter. DeJong eclipsed the 20-homer plateau last season for the first time since 2019, but his .227 average and 32.4 percent strikeout rate limit his fantasy upside. He should at least see regular playing time at third base in Washington.

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