6 BABIPs not ready to return to normal and what they mean for fantasy owners

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Early season success and slumps are often blamed on outlying figures in a selected player's batting average on balls in play (BABIP). This stat works to negate the luck-based factors such as opposing defensive play, or hard-hit balls being hit directly to a defender.

Not all outliers are entirely the result of good or bad luck, as improved or worsened play in other areas can also cause the stat to deviate from a career mean. Here are six players set to continue on their early-season paths:

OF Steven Souza Jr., Tampa Bay Rays

Souza has a strikeout rate below 30 percent for the first time in his three-year tenure with the Rays. His tolerable 25.3 percent K rate is accompanied by a quality 11.6 percent walk rate, the highest of his major-league career. He hasn't attempted a stolen base yet this season, but he does have four home runs, after totaling just 33 in 894 plate appearances over his first two years with Tampa Bay.

The improved walk rate has propped his on-base percentage up to .426, while a .241 ISO has led to a .590 slugging percentage. His .349 batting average is boosted by a .455 BABIP, but the lofty number isn't entirely unsustainable. Souza has boosted his hard-contact rate, while he's also hitting more line drives and fewer ground balls. He is swinging at fewer pitches outside of the strike zone and making significantly more contact in the zone.

The promising power surge may not last, but Souza should continue hitting for a high average due to his improved discipline at the plate.

1B Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals

Injuries have derailed the past three seasons for Zimmerman, but he is still just 32 years old. He totaled just 36 homers over his three injury-ravaged seasons, but he has already belted out seven in just 20 games this year. His power is the result of an other-worldly .400 ISO and .771 slugging percentage. He'll likely end up in the 20-25 homer range, but his vastly improved batting average and lofty run and RBIs totals are here to stay.

Zimmerman has boosted his hard-contact rate and dropped his rate of soft contact. He is hitting 23.1 percent line drives thus far, up from a career rate of 18.9 percent. Additionally, he has lowered his career 44.6 percent ground-ball rate to 36.5 percent this season. He is making contact on 76.0 percent of the 33.3 percent of pitches he swings at outside of the zone, compared to career norms of 65.5 and 26.8 percent, respectively.

SS/OF Chris Owings, Arizona Diamondbacks

Owings had a breakout 2016 season during which he slashed .277/.315/.416. He hit just five home runs but he swiped 21 bases. He has upped both his walk and strikeout frequency so far in 2017, but both by marginal amounts. He is showing unprecedented power with his .493 slugging percentage, propped up by his .164 ISO. Career bests, to be sure, but not fully unsustainable for the 25-year-old.

His hard-hit rate has actually fallen from last season, but so has his soft contact. He is making dramatically more medium contact, which is all he needs in Arizona's hitter-friendly Chase Field. He has grown his line-drive rate from 23.1 percent last season to 32.7 percent in 2017. He has the speed to reach base occasionally on a 43.6 percent ground-ball rate. View him as a pre-breakout poor man's Jose Altuve.

3B/SS Jose Reyes, New York Mets

No one should be holding out hope for Reyes at this point, and he is owned in just 14 percent of leagues. Name value can reign supreme, and some may immediately buy back in at the first sign of production.

Reyes is striking out at a rate more than double his career average. His power has totally disappeared, with an ISO of just .030 and a slugging percentage of .134. He is making hard contact on just 13.7 percent of batted balls, with 62.7 percent qualifying as medium contact. Just 12.0 percent of his batted balls have been line drives, with his medium contact not turning his 48.0 percent of fly balls into homers at Citi Field.

OF Scott Schebler, Cincinnati Reds

Schebler will be more intriguing than Reyes to most owners with seven homers in 78 plate appearances this season. He is hitting just .186 with a .269 OBP, results of a .170 BABIP which is unlikely to change.

Schebler's hard-hit rate remains roughly the same as last season, but he is also making more soft contact. The most staggering weakness in his game is a 8.0 percent line-drive rate, accompanied by a 40.0 percent rate of ground balls. He is swinging and making contact on more pitches outside of the zone, leading to more soft contact on poorly hit balls off the end of the bat.

1B Mike Napoli, Texas Rangers

Napoli had a miraculous 2016 season with the Cleveland Indians. While he hit for a paltry .239 batting average, he reached base at a .335 clip and belted 34 homers with 101 RBIs and 92 runs scored. He has just three home runs in his first 20 games with the Rangers and is slashing .160/.250/.320.

His walk rate has dropped from 12.1 percent to 7.1, and his soft-contact rate is up from 19.3 percent to 23.5. He is swinging outside the zone more often but making dramatically less contact. His overall contact has dropped from 72.1 percent to 69.3.