Josh Bell

Bell had a true breakout season in 2019, improving drastically in pretty much every measurable category. His increases in exit velocity (2.3 mph), launch angle (3.8 degrees), and barrels per plate appearance (3.8%) showed that his gains were not fluky, and he even recovered from what looked to be a second-half collapse with a .927 OPS in August. The issue for Bell is that even with the improvements, a first baseman who bats .277 and slugs 37 home runs is not blowing the fantasy world away. Buy many of the gains, but don't go crazy on draft day.

Josh Bell (groin) absent from Saturday's lineup

Josh Bell is out of the Pirates' lineup for Saturday's game against the Cubs.

Fantasy Impact

Bell was removed from yesterday's game with the groin issue and is reportedly unavailable today. With the Pirates long gone from playoff contention, expect the team to be careful with Bell. In other words, don't expect much from him for the remainder of the season.