| AVG | OBP | SLG | ||||||
| 1 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | .341 | 1 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | .439 | 1 | Shohei Ohtani | .700 |
| 2 | Nick Castellanos | .334 | 2 | Max Muncy | .414 | 2 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | .686 |
| 3 | Michael Brantley | .332 | 3 | Juan Soto | .408 | 3 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | .679 |
| 4 | Adam Frazier | .326 | 4 | Adam Frazier | .396 | 4 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .596 |
| 5 | Xander Bogaerts | .323 | 5 | Yoan Moncada | .395 | 5 | Nick Castellanos | .585 |
| xBA | xwOBA | Hard Hit% | ||||||
| 1 | Michael Brantley | .352 | 1 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | .439 | 1 | Shohei Ohtani | 56.9 |
| 2 | Kyle Tucker | .323 | 2 | Max Muncy | .435 | 2 | Aaron Judge | 56.8 |
| T | Aaron Judge | .323 | 3 | Aaron Judge | .434 | 3 | Salvador Perez | 56.6 |
| 4 | Nick Castellanos | .320 | 4 | Shohei Ohtani | .431 | 4 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 56.1 |
| T | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | .320 | 5 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .428 | 5 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | 56 |
| Hit Streaks | |||||||||
| Streak | Hitter | AB | Runs | Hits | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG/OBP/SLG |
| 21 | David Fletcher | 84 | 16 | 35 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | .417/.437/.524 |
| 11 | Starlin Castro | 38 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 1 | .447/.500/.632 |
| 9 | Tim Anderson | 39 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | .410/.452/.487 |
| 9 | Chris Taylor | 35 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 10 | .371/.405/.514 |
| 8 | Wander Franco | 33 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | .303/.324/.424 |
| 8 | Paul Goldschmidt | 32 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 6 | .375/.444/.531 |
| 7 | Ben Gamel | 23 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 5 | .435/.500/1.043 |
| 7 | Joey Votto | 22 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | .364/.500/.682 |
| 6 | Mookie Betts | 30 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | .267/.290/.400 |
| 6 | Jeimer Candelario | 23 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | .391/.462/.696 |
| 6 | Brandon Crawford | 25 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | .520/.571/.680 |
| 6 | Myles Straw | 21 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | .333/.462/.429 |
| 6 | Justin Turner | 24 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .500/.556/.750 |
Who's Hot
Ben Gamel, Milwaukee
Perhaps this resembles a Tyler Naquin type of hot streak, but Gamel's hitting .474/.545/1.053 his last six games spanning 22 plate appearances with seven runs, three home runs and seven RBI. His isolated power of .579 accompanies a .646 weighted on-base average (wOBA) with a 315 weighted runs created plus (wRC+) metric. Beneath the numbers he's produced four barrels of his last 15 batted ball events (26.7 percent) with nine hard hits (exit velocity of 95 MPH+) for a 60 percent rate. Plus, he's hitting .309 (30-for-97) his last 28 starts along with a .321 batting average with runners on base. Ride the hot streak and track his results through the end of July.
Garrett Cooper, Miami
Playing time issues and injuries usually cap Cooper's upside. However, he's been playing full-time since his return from the injured list recording a .485 batting average (16-for-33) over his last 12 contests with two doubles, four home runs and nine RBI. His last seven games yielded a robust .450/.577/.900 slash line with four runs, three home runs, five RBI and his first career stolen base. Of his last 13 batted ball events he's generated three barrels (23.1 percent) and 10 hard hits (76.9 percent). Stay healthy Coop!
Elvis Andrus, Oakland
A slow start to his season shrouds his recent successes. Andrus owned a .143 batting average after his first 31 games this season but since May seventh he's hitting .289 (55-for-290) with 22 runs, 15 doubles, two home runs, 17 RBI and five stolen bases. Last I checked, many in fantasy need steals in their leagues. He's also been hot since moving to second in the lineup his last eight games with a .353/.378/.588 slash with six runs, two doubles, two home runs, five RBI and three steals. Within this sample he boasts a .235 isolated power, a .407 wOBA and 164 wRC+. Although the power may tail off, if he stays near the top of the lineup, the runs and stolen bases may continue making him an intriguing addition for the second half.
Who's Not
Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
Planning on a reduction on power coming off shoulder issues this off-season made sense. Add in changing his swing and it made him a risky venture. Those who paid full retail for him in the second round continue to suffer. He's hitting .080/.172/.080 his last seven games through 29 plate appearances with three runs and an RBI. Of more concern, his strikeout percentage of 31 with a -17 wRC+ and no extra-base hits. Here's hoping he takes full advantage of the upcoming All-Star break to reset.
Jesse Winker, Cincinnati
Still believe in his breakout, but it's time to realize he's going to be streaky in terms of fantasy production over a full season. This means he's still terrific in rotisserie leagues but in head-to-head or points formats, his price tag may need to be reduced in 2022. He's produced an RBI his last six games with a .043/.185/.043 slash and a -21 wRC+. Good news, Winker still owns an 11.1 walk rate with an 18.5 strikeout percentage so he's not sacrificing discipline during his slump.
Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees
Unlike Winker above, fantasy players accept Sanchez for who he is. A flawed commodity who, when hot hits home runs in binges but when he's not, strikes out in bunches. He owns a 38.1 strikeout rate his last five games spanning 21 plate appearances with three runs but zero hits and a -44 wRC+ in them.
Migration to the Mean
José Ramírez, Cleveland
Over the last 365 days, he owns a .273/.360/.556 slash with 102 runs, 35 home runs, 97 RBI and 18 stolen bases through 580 plate appearances. His hard hit rate sits 11 percentage points higher than last season's with a lower strikeout percent and he's swinging at more pitches in the strike zone plus making more contact on them. A healthy Franmil Reyes may fuel a second half surge by Ramírez:
- .259 batting average versus a .303 expected batting average (xBA) - plus 44 points
- .517 slugging percentage versus a .558 expected slugging (xSLG) - plus 41 points
- .359 wOBA versus a .397 expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) - plus 38 points
Freddie Freeman, Atlanta
A frustrating case in 2021 since his quality of contact remains down despite his expected statistics suggesting better days lie ahead. One thing to monitor, where he's hitting the ball. During last year's power surge, he pulled the ball more but this season his pull and opposite field percentages sit below 2020 while he's hitting the ball up the middle more than 45 percent of his batted ball events. His last statistical year provides hope in a .298/.411/.538 slash with 106 runs, 30 home runs, 99 RBI and six stolen bases over 637 plate appearances. If he starts pulling the ball more in the second half, look for his power production to rise:
- .270 batting average versus a .303 xBA - plus 33 points
- .470 slugging percentage versus a .586 xSLG - plus 116 points
- .361 wOBA versus a .411 xwOBA - plus 50 points
Juan Soto, Washington
A strong series in San Diego may be sowing the seeds of a monster second half for Soto. His last 365 days of production backs up a pending surge with 91 runs, 24 home runs, 79 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a .310/.439/.543 slash. Armed with a hard hit rate higher than 2020 so far with all of his indicators stable, look out if he migrates towards his expected rates:
- .286 batting average versus a .316 xBA - plus 30 points
- .454 slugging percentage versus a .551 xSLG - plus 97 points
- .372 wOBA versus a .420 xwOBA - plus 48 points
Player News
Nationals placed INF Luis García Jr. on the paternity list.
García figures to miss the next three days. Amed Rosario will probably get at least a couple of starts in his place against the Braves.
Nationals recalled INF/OF Trey Lipscomb from Triple-A Rochester.
Lipscomb was up briefly last month and went 2-for-4. The 25-year-old is being groomed as a utility player by the Nationals; he’s started at least four games at first, second, third and in left field while hitting .283/.362/.380 in Triple-A this season.
Paul Skenes has announced that he will pitch for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic
Skenes has pitched for Team USA in two other tournaments during his career and actually spent two years at the Air Force Academy. He is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now and will partner with arguably the best hitter in baseball right now, Aaron Judge, to lead Team USA in what figures to be an extremely competitive WBC tournament in 2026.
White Sox LHP prospect Hagen Smith (fatigue) will have his workload managed at Double-A Birmingham.
Hagen Smith’s velocity fluctuated in his last outing, and the White Sox were cautious about him showing some signs of fatigue. They shortened his last outing and will skip his next start to help him manage his workload in his first full professional season. Everything is fine with Smith from a medical perspective, but this is a good reminder that Smith is an immense talent, but fantasy managers shouldn’t expect a major impact this season as he adjusts to professional baseball.
Paul Blackburn (knee) will make his final rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday
Blackburn has already made four rehab starts, so he will need to be reinstated from the injured list after his start on Friday. As of now, there is no room in the Mets’ rotation, so the most likely outcome is that Blackburn would serve as a multi-inning reliever, which could bump Dedniel Nunez back to the minors.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted the team will “take a look at” whether or not to remove Tanner Houck from the starting rotation.
After his brutal start on Monday, Houck admitted this is “probably the most lost [he’s] ever been.” The struggles really began in the second half of last season, but Houck now has an 8.04 ERA and has allowed double-digit runs in less than three innings twice this season already. Houck does have minor league options remaining, so the Red Sox could simply send him to Triple-A and give him time to figure out what’s going out. If they were to do so, that would allow Hunter Dobbins to stay in the rotation even after Walker Buehler returns next week.