Brendan Donovan

Brendan Donovan

29-Year-Old Second Baseman2B
Seattle Mariners
Day-To-Day
Injury Undisclosed
2026 Fantasy Outlook
Donovan got off to a terrific start last season, slashing .329/.390/.469 with four home runs and three stolen bases through the first two months. He then suffered a turf toe injury in early June that nagged at him, and a groin strain in the second half was blamed on compensating for the toe issue. The 29-year-old wound up hitting a pedestrian .251/.321/.381 over the final four months before eventually being shut down late in the year after the groin issue resurfaced. Donovan then had offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia. His final numbers in 2025 were right in line with his career norms, but it's fair to wonder if injury prevented Donovan from his best offensive season. Even if that were the case, Donovan is mostly a batting average specialist for fantasy purposes, as he doesn't run and his power is limited. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#268
ADP
Signed a one-year, $5.8 million contract with the Cardinals in January of 2026. Traded to the Mariners in February of 2026.
Scratched Saturday
2BSeattle Mariners
Undisclosed
May 16, 2026
Donovan was scratched from the lineup ahead of Saturday's game against the Padres.
Analysis
It's unclear why the Mariners took Donovan out of the lineup, but the team will likely offer an explanation in the near future. In the meantime, Leo Rivas will fill the void at third base and bat eighth.
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Batting Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2026 MLB Game Log
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2025 MLB Game Log
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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
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
18
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
1
3
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2024
 
 
+33%
OPS vs RHP
2026
 
 
+162%
OPS vs RHP
2025
 
 
+39%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+19%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024vs Left .627 387 34 2 29 2 .241 .298 .330
Since 2024vs Right .836 881 104 25 102 7 .299 .373 .463
2026vs Left .382 24 1 0 0 1 .174 .208 .174
2026vs Right .999 77 8 3 8 0 .311 .442 .557
2025vs Left .614 169 15 2 13 0 .230 .292 .322
2025vs Right .853 346 49 8 37 3 .315 .383 .471
2024vs Left .671 194 18 0 16 1 .259 .314 .356
2024vs Right .797 458 47 14 57 4 .286 .354 .443
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Minor League Splits View Minor League Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2024
 
 
+1%
OPS at Home
2026
 
 
+55%
OPS at Home
2025
 
 
+16%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+8%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024Home .777 631 68 13 68 7 .285 .354 .423
Since 2024Away .766 637 70 14 63 2 .278 .346 .420
2026Home 1.037 48 5 2 5 1 .342 .458 .579
2026Away .669 53 4 1 3 0 .217 .321 .348
2025Home .720 269 34 4 25 2 .272 .343 .377
2025Away .834 246 30 6 25 1 .303 .363 .471
2024Home .789 314 29 7 38 4 .288 .347 .442
2024Away .731 338 36 7 35 1 .268 .337 .394
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Stat Review
How does Brendan Donovan 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
0.73
 
BB Rate
10.9%
 
K Rate
14.9%
 
BABIP
.299
 
ISO
.179
 
AVG
.274
 
OBP
.386
 
SLG
.452
 
OPS
.839
 
wOBA
.372
 
Exit Velocity
85.6 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
27.1%
 
Barrels/PA
3.0%
 
Expected BA
.268
 
Expected SLG
.378
 
Sprint Speed
21.4 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
40.0%
 
Line Drive %
22.9%
 
Fly Ball %
37.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
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
2025
2024
2023
After a flexor tendon issue limited him to just 95 games in 2023, Donovan stayed healthy in 2024, reaching career highs in games (153) and plate appearances (652). That helped lead to career bests in home runs, RBI and runs, too, although the 28-year-old's .759 OPS and 115 wRC+ were both low-water marks. It was due mainly to Donovan's walk rate falling for the second year in a row down to 7.2 percent, which is below average and a far cry from the 12.8 percent mark he had as a rookie. He still had a solid .342 OBP thanks to an elite contact rate keeping his average up, but the Cardinals moved away from Donovan as their regular leadoff man in June and Masyn Winn grabbed that gig. Because he's not a standout in any statistical category, Donovan really needs a prime spot in the batting order to elevate his standing in fantasy leagues.
Donovan worked last offseason on tweaking his setup at the plate, standing more upright while attempting to pull the ball in the air more often. It seemed to mostly work, as he upped his flyball rate from 23.6 percent to 30.3 percent and his pull rate from 35.5 percent to 41.3 percent. The result was Donovan more than doubling his home run total, but unfortunately he played only 95 games before needing season-ending flexor tendon surgery. The new, more aggressive approach meant fewer walks for Donovan, but because he remained elite at making contact and also hit the ball harder, he boasted an xBA in the 91st percentile. Donovan is expected to recover from elbow surgery in time for Opening Day and seems like a good bet to hit either first or second in the Cardinals' lineup.
Donovan made his big-league debut for the Cardinals in late April and had a solid rookie campaign with a .281/.394/.379 slash line in 126 games. He hit only five home runs with 45 RBI and 64 runs, and the lack of power is consistent from his time in the minors, where he topped out at 12 long balls in a single season. He showed impressive plate discipline, especially for a rookie, and had a 13.3 percent walk rate and 15 percent strikeout rate. Unless the Cardinals add a shortstop in free agency, Tommy Edman should work there in 2023, which should keep the keystone open for Donovan, who won a Gold Glove as a utility player last year. The young infielder played in at least seven games at six different positions, and his versatility should help him retain a regular spot in the lineup, especially if he can replicate his average and on-base figures.
More Fantasy News
Taking seat Wednesday
2BSeattle Mariners
May 13, 2026
Donovan is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.
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Reinstated from injured list
2BSeattle Mariners
May 8, 2026
The Mariners activated Donovan (groin) from the 10-day injured list Friday.
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Will be activated from IL on Friday
2BSeattle Mariners
Groin
May 7, 2026
Donovan (groin) is traveling to Chicago to meet the Mariners and will be activated from the 10-day injured list prior to Friday's game against the White Sox, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.
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Beginning rehab assignment Tuesday
2BSeattle Mariners
Groin
May 4, 2026
Donovan (groin) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Arkansas on Tuesday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
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Nearing return
2BSeattle Mariners
Groin
April 28, 2026
Manager Dan Wilson said Tuesday that Donovan (groin) is expected to return from the injured list during the Mariners' upcoming homestand, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Seeing time at third base
2BSeattle Mariners
February 14, 2026
Donovan has had reps at third base in his first training sessions with infield coach Perry Hill, according to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times.
Analysis
The Mariners saw four of the five players who started at least one game at third base in 2025 depart the organization, including Eugenio Suarez and Ben Williamson, so slotting Donovan into that role would make sense. Donovan landed in Seattle in an offseason trade with the Cardinals and could play multiple positions, including second base and even corner outfield on a pinch.
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