Rafael Ortega

Rafael Ortega

33-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Chicago White Sox AAA
2024 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Rafael Ortega in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#361
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the White Sox in January of 2024.
Outrighted to Charlotte
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
May 17, 2024
Ortega cleared waivers Friday and was sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
ANALYSIS
Ortega held the right to decline his outright assignment and elect free agency, but he will instead remain within the White Sox organization and look to turn things around in the minors. The 33-year-old went 1-for-14 during his stint with the Sox, but he has slashed .241/.378/.431 with 14 RBI through 75 plate appearances with Charlotte.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2019
2018
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+8%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+140%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+20%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+32%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .611 61 10 0 2 4 .259 .333 .278
Since 2022vs Right .661 462 45 8 42 16 .226 .328 .333
2024vs Left .400 5 1 0 0 1 .200 .200 .200
2024vs Right .167 12 3 0 1 1 .000 .167 .000
2023vs Left .697 34 3 0 2 1 .300 .364 .333
2023vs Right .583 102 13 1 6 5 .190 .333 .250
2022vs Left .529 22 6 0 0 2 .211 .318 .211
2022vs Right .698 348 29 7 35 10 .242 .331 .367
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+1%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
-100%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+45%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+11%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .656 283 32 3 22 14 .227 .343 .313
Since 2022Away .652 240 23 5 22 6 .232 .311 .341
2024Home .361 12 3 0 1 2 .111 .250 .111
2024Away .000 5 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
2023Home .703 80 9 0 6 6 .273 .400 .303
2023Away .484 56 7 1 2 0 .146 .255 .229
2022Home .654 191 20 3 15 6 .215 .325 .329
2022Away .723 179 15 4 20 6 .266 .337 .386
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Rafael Ortega 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
0.50
 
BB Rate
11.8%
 
K Rate
23.5%
 
BABIP
.091
 
ISO
.000
 
AVG
.071
 
OBP
.176
 
SLG
.071
 
OPS
.248
 
wOBA
.134
 
Exit Velocity
85.1 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
36.4%
 
Barrels/PA
0.0%
 
Expected BA
.198
 
Expected SLG
.240
 
Sprint Speed
24.9 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
50.0%
 
Line Drive %
0.0%
 
Fly Ball %
50.0%
 
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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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Rafael Ortega See More
Lineup Lowdown: National League
Lineup Lowdown: National League
September 19, 2023
September 19, 2023
Ryan Boyer presents Lineup Lowdown, an in-depth look at the National League's lineups, including the ascension of Michael Harris occasionally to the leadoff for the NL East-champion Atlanta Braves.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
August 20, 2023
Jan Levine offers up a few NL options, including a top prospect in St. Louis projected to play for the remainder of the season.
Lineup Lowdown: National League
August 8, 2023
Ryan Boyer steps up to the plate with Lineup Lowdown, a look at National League lineup trends, including Alec Bohm's hot hitting seeing him rise up the lineup for the Phillies.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
August 6, 2023
Jan Levine reviews the fallout from the Trade Deadline along with a couple prominent NLers ready to return soon.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
September 18, 2022
The regular season is winding down and Jan Levine is here with a few players who could provide a late fantasy boost.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2020
2018
2017
2013
2012
2011
If every pitcher in the majors was right-handed, Ortega would be a pretty enticing fantasy asset. Unfortunately, there are plenty of southpaws around, and Ortega hasn't had a ton of success against them. Since 2020, his OPS against righties is .790, but his OPS against lefties is just .452. Not surprisingly, the Cubs limited Ortega's exposure against lefties during his time with the club. Last year, the outfielder appeared in 118 games and recorded 316 at-bats. His .241/.331/.358 slash line was ultimately disappointing, as it was down across the board from a promising 2021. Ortega also tallied seven home runs and, for the second straight season, stole 12 bases. The Cubs decided not to tender Ortega a contract after the season, and he joined the Yankees as a non-roster invitee. New York's depth in center field isn't great behind Harrison Bader, but Ortega is still likely an injury away from seeing a roster spot, let alone regular playing time.
Ortega earned his most consistent run in the majors in 2021, racking up a career-high 330 plate appearances. The vast majority of that playing time came in the second half of the season after the Cubs dismantled their core and were attempting to extract value from players within their organization. Ortega provided just that by posting a .306/.378/.491 line with a .185 ISO - good for a 133 wRC+. While it was an impressive display, Ortega will be entering his age-31 season and has just a .255/.318/.363 career line across 777 plate appearances. Given the combination of age and skill, Ortega is exceedingly unlikely to be a building block in the Cubs' organization moving forward. That leaves his role in 2022 uncertain, and that uncertainty is only likely to grow as the season progresses thanks to the offseason additions of Harold Ramirez and Clint Frazier as well as the impending call-up of top prospect Brennen Davis.
Ortega found his way onto the Braves' playoff roster, though that was more due to a lack of alternatives than his own particular talents. The 28-year-old played 34 games for the Braves late in the year but did very little at the plate, hitting .205/.271/.307, good for a 51 wRC+. He now owns a 59 wRC+ (.229/.287/.290) in 143 games over parts of four seasons in the majors. His 17 steals over that stretch are a respectable amount, hinting at a bit of deep-league fantasy value should he find his way into a larger role, but that seems unlikely after he settled for a minor-league deal to return to Atlanta. His ability to cover all three outfield positions could earn him a roster spot at some point, but his bat is a poor fit as even a fifth outfielder. Even owners in deep leagues need not show much interest unless he works his way into a temporary starting role.
After a year with the Padres, Ortega join the Marlins on a minor-league deal this offseason -- the 26-year-old's fifth different organization. He turned in a great campaign with Triple-A El Paso in 2017, hitting .317 with six homers, 26 stolen bases (33 attempts) and a 46:49 BB:K. Ortega enjoyed a similar amount of success at that level in 2016, but that did not translate in his first extended opportunity in the majors. While he continued to put bat to ball with consistency in his 66-game stint with the Angels, his walk rate fell to just 6.4 percent and the power was virtually non-existent. Indeed his career numbers at Triple-A may be mostly a byproduct of the Pacific Coast League, but with Miami's outfield stripped down, Ortega should get another chance to prove himself against top-level competition.
Prior to the 2016 season, Ortega had logged a mere four at-bats at the major league level. Thanks to a myriad of injuries to the Angels outfield, the journeyman got his first shot at consistent big league playing time. The results were middling at best, as he only managed to produce a .232/.283/.292 slash line in 185 at-bats. That being said, his BABIP was a lowly .261, meaning that his meager batting line could've been affected by bad luck. The 25-year-old could be in line for better numbers if some extra hits fall while he maintains his strong 88 percent contact rate. That being said, Ortega's inability to hit for power and his weak 6.5 percent walk rate limits his upside as a big league player. He'll provide organizational depth for the Padres to begin 2017 after signing a minor league deal in December.
Ortega showed some improvement at High-A Modesto in his age-21 season, increasing his walk rate (8.3 percent) while cutting his strikeout rate (16.7 percent) without sacrificing much of his marginal power. He even earned a brief cup of coffee in the last two games of the season with the Rockies devoid of healthy outfielders. Though speedy, Ortega's 66.7 percent success rate on the basepaths does not portend well for his major league success, but it should not immediately prove problematic as he advances to the upper minors. Fortunately for Ortega, he has youth and solid contact skills on his side, which should grant him the opportunity to iron out the deficiencies in his game.
Ortega adapted well to full season ball with Low-A Asheville after turning 20 in May. Although his instincts on the basepaths still need refinement, 32 stolen bases along with eight triples serve as an indication of his plus-speed. While his walk rate (5.4 percent) was low, he makes contact regularly (82.7 percent) and should be able to get on base enough to utilize his speed. Ortega is listed at 5-foot-11, 160 pounds, so he may not add a ton of pop as he continues to develop into that frame. Look for him to advance to the hitter-friendly California League, where improved power numbers would hardly surprise and likely vault him up prospect lists.
At 19 years old, Ortega spent 2010 tearing up the Pioneer League in his first North American baseball action. The Venezuelan hit .358/.416/.510 for Casper with 23 steals in 288 at-bats. While somewhat short on power, he has plus speed and a quick bat and profiles as someone who can play center field. It's not crazy to think that in a few years he could be the top prospect in the Rockies system. For now, consider him someone to keep tabs on as he progresses through his minor league development.
More Fantasy News
Removed from 40-man roster
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
May 15, 2024
The White Sox designated Ortega for assignment Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Swipes first two bags of season
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
May 15, 2024
Ortega went 1-for-2 with a walk, a run scored and two stolen bases in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Nationals.
ANALYSIS
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Joins big-league roster
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
April 26, 2024
The White Sox selected Ortega's contract from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latches on with White Sox
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
January 12, 2024
Ortega signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox on Jan. 5.
ANALYSIS
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Hits open market
OFFree Agent  AAA
October 24, 2023
Ortega elected to become a free agent Tuesday.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
In the mix
OFNew York Yankees  AAA
March 22, 2023
Ortega is a candidate to round out the Yankees' Opening Day outfield roster contingent, shares Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com.
ANALYSIS
Ortega is among the more seasoned options New York has. The 31-year-old made 97 outfield starts for the Cubs last season, grading as a positive defender while slashing .241/.331/.358. He could have an edge over right-handed competition, as his lefty bat would offset the likes of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu.
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