Every baseball fan knows that there is no most improved player award. In the NBA they have this award with its previous winner being Tyrese Maxey. Since the MLB tends to be more inconsistent than the NBA, the most improved player award would be super interesting in baseball if ever implemented.
This year’s most improved player in baseball has to be the most surprising. As we head to the national league west the San Diego Padres are currently 73-57, currently holding the second wild card spot. This roster currently has 163 million dollars tied to their superstars in Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, and Luis Arraez. With all these players getting paid, none of them have been the best on their team. The most improved player in baseball is Jurickson Profar, the 31 year old utility player.
Jurickson Profar currently has a .289 average, .386 on base, and a .471 slugging for a .858 OPS. All these stats being a career high, Profar was named to his first all star game. At age 31 you normally don't have a breakout season so late, but this case is different. Profar breaking out may come by surprise, but ten years ago you would say otherwise.
Even as a kid Profar was very good at baseball. At age twelve Profar took Curacao to a Little League World Series victory. Growing up in Curacao he even played with friends Andrelton Simmons and Didi Gregorius, who have both had very successful careers in the MLB at shortstop. It’s safe to say that Profar has a very bright future in baseball at a very early age. At age sixteen Profar signed as an international free agent with the Texas Rangers. At age eighteen he was named the youngest player in single A to win MVP. In just the next year Profar got called up to replace an injured Ian Kinsler. Profar, being the Ranger’s second overall prospect, hit a home run in his very first at bat. In 2013 Profar was named not only the Ranger’s first overall prospect but ranked the best prospect in all of baseball. However, all of this hype all started to decline when he got called up.
Profar struggled as a rookie with only batting a .234 average and a .644 OPS, which are very well below average. In 2014 Profar got injured by tearing a muscle in his throwing shoulder. This was the very beginning of Profar’s long injury history. In 2015 Profar tore his labrum and was now out for the second year in a row. His first full season came up seven years after he had initially been called up. This was due to all the injuries and the Rangers having too many position players. Rougned Odor was a breakout second baseman who took Profar’s spot when injured. Odor’s famous punch to Jose Bautista actually led to Profar getting reps since Odor got suspended. In 2018 Profar finally played a full season and had his best in his career with a .793 OPS, while playing many different positions on the infield. After this season Profar got traded to the Oakland A’s to play everyday second base and replace Jed Lowrie. However this only lasted one year in Oakland, and it wasn't very good. He was traded to the Padres and even got a three extension with them due to him playing better defense in the outfield. Due to playing better, Profar opted out of his contract with the Padres. However he did not find too much success in free agency and got a one year deal with the Colorado Rockies. He’s now 30 in Colorado and had his worst season. He has the worst WAR in all of baseball with a -1.9. Due to this play Profar was cut by the Rockies in 2023 being labeled the worst player in baseball.
This past offseason the Padres gave him a one year one million dollar deal. Now to everyone’s surprise this might be considered the best contract in all of baseball. This new all star will probably help lead this Padres team to a playoff appearance. It’s crazy to see one of baseball's worst players quickly become one of its best. Profar is no longer a bust in baseball and it will be very interesting to see what contract he will get in the offseason. My player comparison for Profar is Ben Zobrist. A utility player with elite contact and discipline. Zobrist was definitely a better defender but other than that the players are very similar. Zobrist helped the Cubs win a World Series in 2016, who knows what Profar will do for the Padres this season.
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