This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Ten years ago, there was a serious debate going on as to who would have the better MLB career—Jurickson Profar or Oscar Taveras.
Profar made the Texas Rangers’ roster at 19 years old and was thought by some to be the best prospect at that time. Others opted for Taveras, a smooth-swinging lefty outfielder who was called up by the St. Louis Cardinals and bombed a homer through a pouring rain in his second MLB at-bat.
We never got to find out how good Taveras could have been because he died after the 2014 season in an auto accident. His untimely death forced St. Louis into a series of compensatory moves that, even a decade later, are still affecting the franchise in ways good and bad.
What we’ve found out this year is that in his age 31 season, Profar has finally unlocked the vast potential everyone believed he possessed. It’s not like he hasn’t accomplished anything before—he enjoyed 20-homer seasons for Texas and Oakland in 2018–19—but he’s never had a year like this.
Not only is he the MLB bargain of the year, but it’s not hard to make a case for him as the National League Most Valuable Player.
The San Diego Padres wouldn’t be 64-52 and seriously threatening the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West if it weren’t for Profar’s career year. Profar enters their weekend series in Miami batting .300 with a team-high 19 homers and 71 RBI. His on-base percentage of .394 leads the league.
He might also lead the league in lack of bleeps given, at least when it comes to the feelings of his opponents. There was a dustup in April with the Dodgers’ Will Smith that resulted in the benches milling and cooing, followed by Smith calling Profar irrelevant after the game.
Next night? Profar drilled a three-run double off the top of the center field wall to lift San Diego to a 6-3 win.
“Every time they poke that bear, that bear comes in swinging,” said Manny Machado in June. “Keep poking him all you want. He carries us big-time when they do.”
The Washington Nationals found that out the hard way in late June. They walked Luis Arraez in the 10th inning of a 6-5 game to load the bases and get to Profar. Then they buzzed the control tower with an 0-2 fastball.
Profar laced a game-winning two-run single and then carried his celebration from first base to beyond third base, pounding his chest and yelling towards the fans as he drifted towards the visitors’ dugout. The Nationals thought his celebration shattered their copy of the unwritten rules apparently given to them by Smith.
Next night? Catcher Keibert Ruiz tried to start a fight prior to Profar’s first at-bat, and former teammate MacKenzie Gore stuck a 98-mph fastball in his leg. In the sixth inning, Profar rifled a grand slam to right to punctuate a 9-7 victory.
“He brings value in what he does,” said first-year manager Mike Shildt of Profar. “But he also brings value in ‘I’m just going to go out and be a good teammate.’ He’s going to bring the people around him up. That’s what winning players do.”
The Padres’ million-dollar man could be someone’s 20-million-dollar man in a few months. It can be argued that no player bet on himself as heavily as Profar did this year and won as big as he’s about to. Whether he gets his bag from San Diego or somewhere else, Profar is about to get paid.
Simply put, 12 years after making the majors, Profar’s potential finally wrote a check his abilities could cash.
