| AVG | OBP | SLG | ||||||
| 1 | Yermín Mercedes | .358 | 1 | Max Muncy | .450 | 1 | Nick Castellanos | .647 |
| 2 | Nick Castellanos | .347 | 2 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | .440 | 2 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | .615 |
| 3 | Xander Bogaerts | .344 | 3 | Chris Taylor | .424 | T | Kris Bryant | .615 |
| 4 | Adam Frazier | .339 | 4 | Bryce Harper | .418 | T | Shohei Ohtani | .615 |
| 5 | Jesse Winker | .338 | 5 | Nick Castellanos | .410 | 5 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | .612 |
| xBA | xwOBA | Hard Hit% | ||||||
| 1 | Aaron Judge | .348 | 1 | Aaron Judge | .461 | 1 | Evan Longoria | 59.6 |
| 2 | Michael Brantley | .345 | 2 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | .454 | 2 | Aaron Judge | 59.2 |
| 3 | Nick Castellanos | .337 | 3 | Bryce Harper | .443 | 3 | Salvador Perez | 58.2 |
| 4 | Harold Castro | .327 | 4 | Byron Buxton | .438 | 4 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | 57.4 |
| 5 | Omar Narváez | .326 | 5 | Nick Castellanos | .431 | 5 | Nelson Cruz | 54.7 |
| Hit Streaks | |||||||||
| Streak | Hitter | AB | Runs | Hits | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG/OBP/SLG |
| 14 | Jose Altuve | 60 | 13 | 24 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 6 | .400/.471/.633 |
| 10 | Elvis Andrus | 33 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | .333/.371/.455 |
| 9 | Odúbel Herrera | 33 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | .394/.474/.576 |
| 8 | Nick Castellanos | 28 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 3 | .536/.639/.821 |
| 8 | Yordan Alvarez | 35 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 9 | .314/.333/.457 |
| 7 | Jake Cronenworth | 27 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .444/.500/.630 |
| 7 | Yandy Díaz | 29 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 6 | .414/.452/.552 |
| 7 | Enrique Hernandez | 26 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | .385/.467/.692 |
| 7 | Trey Mancini | 25 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 6 | .440/.533/.960 |
| 7 | Trea Turner | 29 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 4 | .414/.469/.724 |
Who's Hot
Nolan Arenado , St. Louis - Surging in terms of power with four home runs his last 21 plate appearances producing seven RBI and a robust .450/.476/1.100 slash line including a .650 isolated power. His team hosts the Cubs this weekend which may provide a barometer on how these teams stack up going forward battling for the National League Central.
Trey Mancini , Baltimore - First, it's easy rooting for a player who overcame a battle with cancer. Over his last six contests, Mancini owns a .429/.538/.1.000 slash line with three home runs and 10 RBI fueled by a .571 isolated power. Here's hoping he stays hot against the Nationals in an interleague tilt this weekend.
Brandon Crawford , San Francisco - Coming of a six-RBI game in Cincinnati, he's slashing .360/.407/.880 his last six games with nine runs, four RBI and 11 RBI in them. He's a streaky sort of hitter throughout his career and will be put to the test this weekend facing the Dodgers. If he stays hot, he's a sneaky add at middle infield going forward.
Who's Not
Nate Lowe , Texas - A hot start to the season accompanies his recent struggles but he may be best served on fantasy benches until he figures things out. He's only produced one RBI his last seven games with a paltry .043/.179/.043 slash line with a 32.1 strikeout rate in them. Less than optimal.
Jesús Aguilar , Miami - A former member of the hot list but crashing back towards the mean with a .045/.087/.045 slash his last 23 plate appearances and he's now home for the weekend. Aguilar's hit all nine of his home runs this season on the road and owns a .226 average at home over 63 plate appearances. This may be a weekend to use Garrett Cooper instead at first base. Stay tuned.
Raimel Tapia , Colorado - Now, the Rockies usually struggle away from Coors Field but Tapia's a player people roster for batting average insulation. He's scuffled of late producing a .063/.200/.125 slash through his last 20 plate appearances with two runs and two RBI in five contests. Another oddity, he hits for a higher average away from Colorado this season. Use with caution this weekend in DFS.
Positive Migration to the Mean
Kyle Tucker , Houston - It feels like he's on this list or just on the periphery of it each week. Perhaps a visit to Texas this weekend moves his numbers towards his expected ones:
- .226 batting average versus a .296 expected batting average (xBA) - plus 70 points
- .471 slugging percentage versus a .566 expected slugging (xSLG) - plus 95 points
- .320 weighted on-base average (wOBA) versus a .386 expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) - plus 66 points
Marcell Ozuna , Atlanta - Testing the patience of those with him on their roster, Ozuna needs to get going, along with many of his teammates. If he does get hot, look out:
- .201 batting average versus a .258 xBA - plus 57 points
- .322 slugging percentage versus a .444 xSLG - plus 122 points
- .269 wOBA versus a .335 xwOBA - plus 66 points
Aaron Judge , New York Yankees - A unicorn on this list. He's hot right now boasting a .417/.500/.917 slash line his last seven games spanning 28 plate appearances with four home runs and six RBI. Facing the White Sox at home provides a nice test to his status but his expected rates suggest more good results may be on tap:
- .297 batting average versus a .348 xBA - plus 51 points
- .579 slugging percentage versus a .661 xSLG - plus 82 points
- .417 wOBA versus a .461 xwOBA - plus 44 points
Player News
Kyren Paris hit a two-run homer in Wednesday’s win for the Angels over the Blue Jays.
That’s the first homer for Paris since April 9 when he went deep twice against Tampa Bay and caused everyone to lose all sense of rational thought. The 23-year-old did also single and walk to improve his on-base percentage to .311,, while the homer bumps his slugging mark to .378. There is long-term upside in Paris with flashes that suggest he can be a fantasy option. Fantasy managers should still absolutely looking elsewhere for options up the middle.
Jorge Soler hit a three-run double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Angels a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Trent Grisham went 1-for-1 with a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of a 4-3 win over the Padres on Wednesday.
While the Yankees won this game on a walk-off in the 10th inning, Grisham’s game-tying home run in the eighth was the biggest moment. He came on as a pinch-hitter for Jorbit Vibas against the usually stout Jason Adam and smashed a two-strike changeup into the right field seats. This clutch shot will only continue to push Grisham’s playing time in the right direction after he just started eight of the last 10 games, hit either first or second in each, and already has 10 homers in 31 games played this season.
Jeff Hoffman blew a save and picked up a loss Wednesday against the Angels.
Devin Williams struck out three batters with one walk and hit another in a scoreless 10th inning to earn the win against the Padres on Wednesday.
The Yankees entrusted Williams with the all important 10th inning and the inherited ghost runner on second base after their dramatic comeback. While he loaded the bases and had some tense moments, he left the inning unscathed and opened the door for them to win it right after. It should be noted that Luke Weaver came on for what were the most important outs of this game at the time, after Ian Hamilton walked two to begin the eighth inning and Weaver allowed both of those inherited runners to score. He was called upon as the fireman though and will likely get the next save opportunity. Still, this was a massive step in the right direction for Williams.
Max Fried allowed five hits and one run with no walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision against the Padres on Wednesday.
Fried’s excellent season continued as he set down the Padres easily besides for a mammoth solo home run by Jackson Merrill. It was no matter though, as they rarely threatened otherwise and Fried continued to find his strikeout stuff. This was his fourth outing of the year with at least seven strikeouts, a mark he only hit 10 times last season in 29 starts. Fried with a strikeout rate that’s better than league average – which is where he’s at right now – is a clear top-10 pitcher in fantasy baseball. He’s set for a two-start week coming up against the Mariners and Mets.