In the first half of 2018 Albert Almora could not be stopped. He hit a very impressive .319/.357/.409 and at one point was leading the league in batting. The second half, however, was a massive fall off as he hit just .232/.267/.280, a massive fall off and one that raises some questions going into 2019.
One of Almoras bright spots offensively was his ability to hit lefties, he hit a very impressive .295/.340/.402, and while the power was bit low, that was something that afflicted the Cubs as a whole so it'll be interesting to see if that bounces back in 2019.
Almoras power was the weakest portion of his game in 2018, his xSLG of .315 was one of the worst in all of baseball and his 5 barrels in 369 plate appearances was equally horrendous. His hard contact rate of 27.4 percent ranked in the bottom 10 percent in all of baseball. That's all despite his launch angle and BABIP remaining at basically the same level as 2017.
Where Almora shined in 2018 was his defense. Early in the season he was considered a prime candidate for a Gold Glove award thanks to some spectacular catches According to Baseball Savant Almora's defense was incredibly impressive as he ranked 7th in all of baseball with 12 outs above average, and his catch rate of 93 percent was 4th in all of baseball.
Almora is probably going to receive the majority of plate appearances for the Cubs in center field. Though the Cubs might favor Ian Happ in situations against a tough righty. If he can return to his first half numbers he would be a huge addition to the Cubs lineup, but if he struggles he could find his playing time reduced or even find himself back in AAA.
2019 is going to be a make or break year for Almora, the Cubs already have a glut at outfield (and that's not including the potential addition of Bryce Harper) so if he has a down season going into his first arbitration season the Cubs might look to trade him or cut bait with him.
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