Nicky Lopez

Nicky Lopez

29-Year-Old Second Baseman2B
Chicago White Sox
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Lopez received regular run as the Royals' shortstop in 2021, but his playing time trended downward following Bobby Witt's arrival, and Lopez was eventually traded to Atlanta at last year's deadline. He was dealt again in November to the White Sox as part of the package for reliever Aaron Bummer. While Lopez is severely lacking the power department -- he has never hit more than two home runs in a big-league season -- he can help real-life teams with his speed and defense around the infield. A hot spring has him positioned to open the year as the primary second baseman on the South Side, though it is difficult to envision him exceeding 500 plate appearances, even on a rebuilding club. The 29-year-old is not a bad player, but he simply does not do enough else offensively to allow his speed to play in the vast majority of fantasy leagues. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#405
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $4.3 million contract with the White Sox in January of 2024.
Not starting Sunday
2BChicago White Sox
September 29, 2024
Lopez is absent from Sunday's lineup against Detroit.
ANALYSIS
Lopez will be out of the White Sox's lineup for a second straight game. Unless he pinch hits during Sunday's contest, he'll end the season with a slash line of .241/.312/.294 with five stolen bases, one home run and 21 RBI over 445 plate appearances. Jacob Amaya will start at shortstop and bat ninth.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
41
14
1
19
21
9
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
1
4
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+23%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+36%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+13%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+18%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .500 241 25 0 10 4 .217 .269 .230
Since 2022vs Right .614 946 98 2 56 20 .238 .311 .303
2024vs Left .463 66 6 0 1 1 .213 .250 .213
2024vs Right .631 379 34 1 20 4 .246 .323 .309
2023vs Left .573 50 7 0 3 1 .244 .306 .267
2023vs Right .647 212 25 1 22 5 .228 .330 .317
2022vs Left .490 125 12 0 6 2 .207 .264 .225
2022vs Right .576 355 39 0 14 11 .234 .287 .289
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+4%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+19%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+11%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+14%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .579 586 65 0 31 13 .219 .301 .278
Since 2022Away .602 601 58 2 35 11 .246 .304 .297
2024Home .551 220 21 0 10 2 .211 .288 .263
2024Away .658 225 19 1 11 3 .270 .335 .324
2023Home .598 137 16 0 10 4 .200 .343 .255
2023Away .663 125 16 1 15 2 .261 .306 .357
2022Home .591 229 28 0 11 7 .237 .287 .304
2022Away .520 251 23 0 9 6 .218 .275 .245
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Nicky Lopez 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
0.55
 
BB Rate
8.3%
 
K Rate
15.1%
 
BABIP
.288
 
ISO
.053
 
AVG
.241
 
OBP
.312
 
SLG
.294
 
OPS
.606
 
wOBA
.277
 
Exit Velocity
85.0 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
17.6%
 
Barrels/PA
1.1%
 
Expected BA
.230
 
Expected SLG
.295
 
Sprint Speed
23.5 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
56.1%
 
Line Drive %
17.7%
 
Fly Ball %
26.2%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Lopez's BABIP-dependent hitting didn't work out in 2022, making his breakout in 2021 look like the exception rather than the rule. The infielder regressed to a .227/.281/.273 slash line with a .265 BABIP through 141 games last year, and once Bobby Witt established himself near the top of the order, Lopez often hit in the bottom third. Speed's about the only thing Lopez has going in his favor -- he stole 13 bases on 16 attempts last year while playing for one of the worst offenses in the majors. As if his future with the Royals could get much cloudier, Michael Massey's arrival to fill second base will likely leave Lopez as a utility man in his age-28 season. If he can't hit above .270, the complete lack of power in his bat nullifies any potential base-stealing boost Lopez could offer in fantasy.
Lopez's 2021 season would have probably gone unnoticed if it were not for a seven-game stretch in late August when he stole eight bases. Coming into the season he had just under 600 career plate appearances with a .586 OPS, three homers, and was just 1-for-7 on the bases. He should have been an afterthought for everyone. Two changes happened. First, he raised his BABIP nearly 80 points, pushing up his AVG, OBP and SLG along with it. Not all of the change was luck since his avgEV was up two mph, and he sprayed the ball all over the field. It helps that he has a good eye as seen by an 8.7 BB% and just 13.1 K% last season. His .365 OBP is nothing to sneeze at. Second, he became a real threat on the basepaths with 22 successful swipes in 23 attempts. The combination of getting on base and stealing bases meant the Royals had him hit him second, thereby affording Lopez the chance to accumulate almost 80 runs. The big question going forward is if he's a .340 BABIP or .260 BABIP guy or somewhere in between. With Lopez's complete lack of power, he needs it to be on the high side.
Lopez has been afforded ample opportunity, but he's been unable to build on his rookie campaign. Lopez's game is contact, so while it was encouraging to see his walk rate jump to 9.4 BB% in 2020, more than doubled his mark from the previous season, a jump from a 12.7 K% to 21.4% was disappointing. Further, Lopez was thrown out all five times he attempted to steal. The lefty swinger was especially poor against lefty pitching, slashing just .162/.262/.243 in that scenario, suggesting a platoon could be in his future in 2021, albeit on the more active side. Lopez will likely be given another chance at the everyday gig at the keystone as there isn't anyone else to challenge him unless the Royals move Whit Merrifield back to the infield. At some point, Bobby Witt will be ready, likely pushing Alberto Mondesi over to second. Until then, Lopez will offer empty batting average and little else.
Lopez made his major-league debut in mid-May after putting on a plate-discipline clinic (14.5 BB%, 3.6 K%) against Triple-A pitching for the first month of the season. He took over the starting job at second base but also saw time at shortstop after Adalberto Mondesi went on the IL, making 100 starts in total. The middle infielder had a 56 wRC+ in 2019, which would have ranked dead last in MLB among qualified hitters. Lopez is a plus defender but will need to lower his 62.2 GB% and improve his 4.5 BB% if he's going to have any staying power in his sophomore campaign. He did steal 15-plus bases each year in the minors, but he had only one stolen base after being promoted in May. The Royals are in full rebuild mode and lack quality depth behind Lopez at second base, so he will likely be given a fair shot to rebound in his age-25 season. Even so, his lack of realistic counting-stat upside limits his appeal.
Lopez has risen quickly through the minor-league ranks since being drafted in the fifth round out of Creighton University in 2016. He faced little resistance at the Double-A level over the first half of the 2018 season, walking 10 more times than he struck out with a 20.6% line-drive rate, resulting in a .370 wOBA and 127 wRC+ in 325 PA. His contact rate slipped a bit with the jump to Triple-A Omaha, but his K% was still just 11.3. Lopez maintained a double-digit walk rate and his power exploded in the PCL. He hit seven homers in just 57 games with the Royals' top affiliate, only three fewer than he managed in his first 264 professional games. It was nice to see a surge in that department, but it's tough to buy into the power given he's always been north of 50 percent with his groundball rate. Lopez will already be 24 on Opening Day and is never going to be a star player, but his bat profiles just fine in the middle infield.
More Fantasy News
Not in Saturday's lineup
2BChicago White Sox
September 28, 2024
Lopez isn't in the White Sox's lineup Saturday versus the Tigers.
ANALYSIS
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Idle against lefty
2BChicago White Sox
September 26, 2024
Lopez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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Resting against lefty
2BChicago White Sox
September 25, 2024
Lopez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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Sitting against righty
2BChicago White Sox
September 22, 2024
Lopez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.
ANALYSIS
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Idle against LHP
2BChicago White Sox
September 21, 2024
Lopez isn't in the White Sox's lineup for Saturday's game versus San Diego.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Should stick in Atlanta
2BAtlanta Braves
November 16, 2023
Mark Bowman of MLB.com believes Atlanta should tender Lopez a contract for 2024.
ANALYSIS
The 28-year-old was acquired from Kansas City ahead of the trade deadline and ended up playing in just 26 games after the deal, though he had a .277/.333/.369 slash line. Atlanta could also consider trading Lopez if its leaning toward non-tendering him.
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