Nicky Lopez

Nicky Lopez

30-Year-Old Second Baseman2B
Los Angeles Angels
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Lopez peaked in 2021 and has been backsliding into fantasy irrelevancy almost as quickly as he earned that relevancy. He was one of the players who appeared primed to be successful in the new stolen base rules after going 35 of 39 in the two years leading up to the rule change, but he has since going 11 for 20 in his attempts, which is one of the reasons he had to settle for a minor-league deal with the Cubs. Lopez can absolutely still pick it in the field, and his defensive versatility is valuable, but his days of 400-plus plate appearances are over as his bat is about as empty as they come. He never hit as many as three homers in a major league season, even when playing full-time, but he can put the ball in play somewhere in front of or just past a diving or jumping infielder. His fantasy relevancy is now limited to the deepest of mono league formats, but even then, he should be coming off the bench. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#363
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Angels in March of 2025.
Signs with Halos
2BLos Angeles Angels
March 25, 2025
Lopez agreed to a major-league contract with the Angels on Tuesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
ANALYSIS
The 30-year-old signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs in February, but he was unable to earn a roster spot with the Cubs despite posting a .450/.542/.550 slash line in 24 plate appearances during spring training. Lopez will provide infield depth and could see regular playing time early in the season with Yoan Moncada (thumb) banged up and Zach Neto (shoulder) recovering from shoulder surgery.
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Batting Stats
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2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
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Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+25%
OPS vs RHP
2025
No Stats
2024
 
 
+36%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+13%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023vs Left .510 116 13 0 4 2 .226 .274 .236
Since 2023vs Right .637 591 59 2 42 9 .240 .325 .311
2025vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+16%
OPS on Road
2025
No Stats
2024
 
 
+19%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+11%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023Home .569 357 37 0 20 6 .207 .309 .260
Since 2023Away .660 350 35 2 26 5 .266 .325 .335
2025Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025Away .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
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
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Prospect Rankings History
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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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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Nicky Lopez See More
The Z Files: The Wisdom of Crowds and ATC Projections
38 days ago
Todd Zola explains how projected playing time and a skills-based approach helps him identify upside plays late in a draft, as well as leading him to put Aaron Judge at the top of his personal rankings.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Last Ups
189 days ago
Ryan McMahon and the Rockies finish the season with six straight home games.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
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.
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
Released by Cubbies
2BFree Agent
March 21, 2025
The Cubs released Lopez on Friday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
ANALYSIS
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Moving on from Chicago
2BFree Agent
March 9, 2025
Lopez is expected to be granted his release after the Cubs informed him Sunday that he won't be part of the team's 31-man travel roster for its season-opening series in Japan versus the Dodgers on March 18 and 19, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.
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Receives MiLB deal
2BChicago Cubs
February 2, 2025
Lopez and the Cubs agreed on a minor-league contract Sunday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.
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Becomes free agent
2BFree Agent
November 12, 2024
Lopez elected free agency Tuesday.
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Not starting Sunday
2BChicago White Sox
September 29, 2024
Lopez is absent from Sunday's lineup against Detroit.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Option for Colorado?
2BFree Agent
March 21, 2025
Lopez could be a target for the Rockies after Thairo Estrada was diagnosed with a fractured wrist Friday, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
ANALYSIS
Colorado plans to give Kyle Farmer most of the playing time at second base to begin the season with Estrada facing a 4-to-8 week absence, but the club could also look for help outside the organization. Lopez posted a 1.092 OPS during spring training with the Cubs but was released Friday after missing out on the big-league roster.
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