Latest news with #MendozaLine
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fantasy Baseball Power Rankings: Biggest risers and fallers just past one-third mark of MLB season
We've pushed past the one-third mark of the season; to be exact, 37% of the schedule has been played. The days are long, but the seasons are short. It's a good time to look around the league and try to figure out what's what. The goal with these power rankings is to consider how fantasy-friendly every MLB team is. Simple as that. It's certainly not a mere reflection of won-loss record, though it's inevitable that good teams will likely help us more and bad teams will help us less. Advertisement [Smarter waivers, better trades, optimized lineups — Yahoo Fantasy Plus unlocks it all] We last did this just ahead of the season, so let's have some fun with the updates, and as always I welcome your intelligent and respectful disagreement. 30. Rockies (Previous rank: 28) When a team doesn't win its 10th game until the first week of June, things have bottomed out. Only two Colorado batters are above code, and at least they were waiver finds — catcher Hunter Goodman and outfielder Jordan Beck. Michael Toglia's demotion to the minors was merited, with a batting average under the Mendoza Line and a league-worst 81 strikeouts. 29. White Sox (30) Luis Robert Jr. is the only Chicago player rostered in more than half of Yahoo leagues, with 21 steals partially offsetting that horrid .177 average. Chase Meidroth is a solid player, despite little pop. Starting pitcher Shane Smith deserves some respect, carrying a 2.68 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. Chicago's six saves belong to six different relievers, so there's nothing to see there. 28. Marlins (29) Very little power, as expected. I thought they'd run more. I didn't know what to expect from Sandy Alcántara but he's been a nightmare. At least everyone in the everyday lineup is under 30. Catcher/DH Agustín Ramírez is a right answer. Only the Rockies have a worse ERA in the National League. 27. Pirates (22) Oneil Cruz seems to get better every day and Paul Skenes is still dominating, even with a notable drop in his strikeout rate. Alas, nothing else has gone right in Pittsburgh, outside of Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter offering some occasional streamer value. Bryan Reynolds perked up a bit last week, but he's still having his worst season in five years. 26. Athletics (25) It's about what we expected, a credible offense and a look-out-below pitching staff (5.78 ERA). The Sutter Health Park situation doesn't help these pitchers, but they're 29th in road ERA, too. Jacob Wilson is a little fortunate to be carrying that .355 average, but he rarely swings at a bad pitch and he's elite in squaring the ball. He's a plus defender at shortstop, too. 25. Royals (18) Modern baseball is often smothered by the three true outcomes, but don't blame Kansas City. The Royals rank last in walks and last in homers, and they're the third-hardest team to strike out. All that contact hasn't led to much — these guys are 28th in runs. Maikel Garcia is having a stunning breakthrough, with the best OPS+ on the club and a major jump in all three slash stats. All of the pitching is above code, with the third-best starting rotation (by ERA) and the seventh-best bullpen. 24. Orioles (6) America's crash-landing team, the most frustrating club for fantasy purposes. The Orioles were coming off two playoff berths and brought back most of the roster; to see them 14 games under .500 is shocking. Adley Rutschman looks like Matt Wieters 2.0, a touted prospect who arrives in The Show more ready than expected but perhaps with less down-the-road ceiling than expected. Baltimore likely will be sellers when the trade season opens. 23 Angels (27) What happened to Running Ron Washington? The Angels are 29th in stolen bases. It's nice to see Mike Trout back on the field but it's foolish to ever project him for 500 at-bats again. Zach Neto and Logan O'Hoppe are rising talents, and although first baseman Nolan Schanuel hasn't shown much pop, a .269 average and .372 OBP will play. Tyler Anderson might be an interesting pitcher for a contender, six weeks from now. 22. Guardians (11) Cleveland ranks 24th in runs and 21st in ERA and has a negative run differential, and yet somehow these guys are 32-26. Steven Kwan is symbolic of the team's success, a backwards-approach player who succeeds on high contact and rare line drives (somehow, he's still slugging .438). José Ramírez has a Hall of Fame career just about built. 21. Astros (12) This was a destination offense for so long, but the Astros are tracking for their worst scoring output in 11 years. Yordan Alvarez never looked right this season (he's now on the IL) and Christian Walker might have hit the wall in his mid-30s. Jose Altuve already had a solid Hall of Fame foundation, but he's merely an eyelash above a league average this year. At least Hunter Brown has popped on the mound, the biggest challenger to Tarik Skubal for the AL's Cy Young Award. 20. Rays (21) Tampa Bay has the most steals in baseball, although 19 of them just went back to the minors — Chandler Simpson was sent to Triple-A to make room for Jake Magnum off the injured list. Simpson's .285 average was better than expected, but he carries a modest .315 OBP and a puny .317 slugging — there's work to be done here. 19. Cardinals (26) Somehow they're 12th in runs despite below-average power and speed, bully for them. Nobody on this roster is on pace to hit 25 home runs. The staff has a similar ethos, with no All-Star candidate but four starters who are better than league average. St. Louis has the look of a playoff team that gets eliminated in 15 seconds. Victor Scott II is 16-for-17 on steals and might have the OBP skills to eventually bat first. 18. Giants (23) San Francisco recently removed Ryan Walker from the ninth inning, but the rest of the bullpen has been unreal — with a 2.39 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, this is easily the best relief staff in the majors. Keep an eye on Randy Rodríguez, who has been almost perfect: 0.68 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 38 strikeouts against just three walks. He's not closing right now, but if Camilo Doval has a misstep, Rodríguez might get a look. Rodríguez did work Monday in the ninth in a tie game at home, which shows how his importance has grown. The San Francisco offense hasn't been as much fun; average in runs scored, below average in category juice. 17. Nationals (24) Somehow Washington sits 11th in runs scored despite most of the batters being under league average in OPS+. This speaks to how well the team's two signature hitters have played — James Wood is a monster (16 homers, nine steals) and CJ Abrams has his swag and focus back. Lefty ace MacKenzie Gore leads the majors in strikeouts and has also trimmed his walk rate; all of his starts are appointment viewing. 16. Rangers (15) It's been a trick or treat season for the Arlington boys, ranking 26th in runs scored but first in starting pitcher ERA. Jacob deGrom's reinvention (pitch to contact, less max-out effort) seems to be working (2.34 ERA, 0.98 WHIP), even as he's outpacing the ERA estimators. I almost had a heart attack when deGrom had a zero-strikeout game two turns ago, but heck, watching any ace pitcher can be an invitation for stress. Home cooking matters to the Rangers; they have 20 wins at home, just nine on the road. 15. Red Sox (5) Somehow they're still sixth in runs scored but it feels tenuous, with the infield falling apart (Triston Casas is out for the year, Alex Bregman hurt, Kristian Campbell and Trevor Story slumping). Roman Anthony is percolating in the minors and likely comes up this month, though the Red Sox have no opening in the outfield (Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu are hitting, and the Sox love Ceddanne Rafaela for his defense). Carlos Narváez looks like a long-term solution behind the plate. Maybe Garrett Crochet is Chris Sale 2.0 after all. 14. Blue Jays (16) A plus bullpen has allowed Toronto to overcome a mediocre offense and average starting staff. Maybe Bo Bichette is never going to be the star we all expected — his 46-game rookie debut is still the best baseball he's ever played — but the Jays would probably take this year's .277/.325/.430 slash in perpetuity. The Jays have stuck with closer Jeff Hoffman (13 saves) despite his 5.81 ERA. 13. Brewers (19) An offense that's outkicked the metrics — despite ranking 21st in average, 16th in OBP and 25th in slugging, Milwaukee sits eighth in runs scored. Brice Turang has been better than expected, Jackson Chourio a slight disappointment (but I'm not fading him in any way). Christian Yelich started to hit over the last couple of weeks. 12. Reds (14) Everyone knows Andrew Abbott isn't as good as that 1.51 ERA, but just how good is he? Probably better than you think. His expected ERA is a solid 3.05 and his expected average against is a slight .202. And his extreme fly-ball rate is not a detriment, either; the great Gene McCaffrey taught us many moons ago, whenever a pitcher shows a major bias in either direction with fly balls or ground balls, it represents a good thing, control over his outcomes. 11. Mariners (20) The .237 average is garish but the OBP and slugging are both above code, so the offense has more octane than expected. Cal Raleigh would be a top 5 MVP pick today. George Kirby needs monitoring after two messy starts in his return. Bryan Woo has done a nifty Kirby imitation in the meantime — pound the strike zone, don't give anything away. 10. Braves (2) To rank them this high is a vote for speculation and a nod to the name-brand value. They've been disappointments: 22nd in runs scored, 16th in OPS. Maybe Ozzie Albies has leveled off. But you wonder if a healthy Ronald Acuña Jr. could light this offense on fire. 9. Twins (13) I'd love to see what a healthy Byron Buxton could do with 140 games; he's one of the 10 best players in the American League. The Twins need the thumping Buxton in the lineup; it hurts to have two non-power guys (Ty France, Brooks Lee) manning the infield corners. The staff of all-underrated guys is fifth in starter ERA, to be expected. This is an eat-your-veggies kind of team, drink the milk to the bottom of the glass. 8. Diamondbacks (8) We don't talk about Chase Field that much as an offensive environment, but if you consider the three-year rolling averages on Baseball Savant, this ballpark is tied for third for the biggest scoring boost (even with Great American Ball Park; trailing just Coors Field and Fenway Park). Seven of the Arizona regulars have an OPS+ better than league average, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is just an eyelash below. Arizona needs to figure out the bullpen, with a messy 5.28 ERA there. Advertisement 7. Padres (9) The offense has been less than expected, the pitching better than expected. Jackson Merrill has a 20-point jump in OPS+, but he hasn't shown interest in running since his hamstring injury. The Xander Bogaerts contract was a bad one the day it was signed — he's been under code for OPS+ the last two years — but at least he's 11-for-11 on steals. Michael King had Cy Young vibes before his shoulder injury. 6. Tigers (17) The favorite David Bowie record in Detroit? Station to station. The Tigers have just 21 steals and 27 steal attempts, the fewest in baseball for both columns. Comerica Park is a perfect place if you want to see a triple, but it ranks below average in most of the offensive stats. Gleyber Torres was an underrated pickup; his 128 OPS+ is his best showing in six years, and he has more walks than strikeouts. 5. Mets (3) Juan Soto has yet to detonate, but a sneaky-good pitching staff (second in both starter and relief ERA) has pushed the Mets to the top of the NL East. Pete Alonso has the best batting average and OPS+ of his career, along with an NL-best 18 doubles. Walks are up, strikeouts down. Will the league view Alonso differently this winter if he goes back on the market? 4. Phillies (4) Things usually start well in Philadelphia (seventh-best rotation ERA) but it gets dark in the later innings (25th in bullpen ERA). The offense is fine (seventh in scoring, 11th in homers, fifth in steals), even with a Wheeze Kids shape to the roster (six lineup regulars are in their 30s). Kyle Schwarber is having a glorious season, with a .266/.398/.584 slash and a personal-best 170 OPS+. 3. Yankees (7) Luke Weaver was pitching too well to cede the closer role, but now that a hamstring injury has entered the chat, Devin Williams gets his chance to shine again. The Yankees will use Williams in the ninth inning while Weaver rehabs, and Williams has been much better in recent work (2.08 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 1 BB, 12 K over 8.2 innings). Aaron Judge's supporting cast has been better than expected — nine of the 10 primary hitters here have an OPS+ better than the mean. It's a group that tilts younger, too — only Judge and Paul Goldschmidt are in their 30s. 2. Cubs (10) Second in runs, fourth in homers, third in steals, this has been a carnival offense all year. Pete Crow-Armstrong has the worst K/BB ratio among the regulars, but everything else he does is plated in gold — 15 homers, 19 steals in 22 attempts. He's third on the Yahoo list of MVPs (most commonly-posted players on the best public teams), slightly behind Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge. 1. Dodgers (1) They turned up the juice in May, conking 44 homers (Shohei Ohtani had 15 of them) and slashing .283/.357/.482. For the year, the Dodgers rank first in average, runs, homers and slugging (they're second in OBP). They're not the defending champs for nothing. The pitching has been below average, but elite offense is a lovely deodorant.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'It's no secret': Guardians searching for production in No. 2 spot between Kwan, Ramirez
CLEVELAND — Arguably the main reason the Guardians have been at best No. 2 in the division over the last few weeks has been the (lack of) production from the No. 2 spot in the lineup this season. Manager Stephen Vogt's lineup boasts Steven Kwan, one of the most difficult outs in the league, in the everyday leadoff spot. Jose Ramirez, an every-year MVP candidate who was on a 20-game hit streak at the conclusion of the May 27 game, has been returned to the No. 3 spot. It's a dynamic top of the order. Advertisement But as they fight for the American League Central lead in what continues to be a tight four-team race, the Guardians have been unable to find virtually any production in the spot between Kwan and Ramirez. Guardians catcher Bo Naylor singles against the Washington Nationals during the second inning, May 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The Guardians won 8-6. Guardians have worst-ranked No. 2 spot in the lineup in MLB Cleveland opened the 2025 season with Ramirez in the No. 2 spot to form an explosive one-two punch at the top of the order. But issues with the length of the lineup eventually led to Ramirez moving back to the No. 3 hole, the spot he's occupied for the last several years. Since that time, the Guardians have been searching far and wide for an answer to one question: who best fits between Kwan and Ramirez? They haven't found their answer yet. Advertisement Entering Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Guardians had the weakest production out of the No. 2 spot in the lineup by a wide margin. Cleveland's collective No. 2 hitters had a combined wRC+ of 37, which means they've been 63% below league average, by far the worst in baseball. They've hit .168 and posted an on-base percentage of just .229. Those numbers get even worse once you take Ramirez out of the equation. While he was hitting second, he accounted for a wRC+ of 118 (18% above league average), all four home runs that have been hit from that spot and eight of the 12 RBIs. And he hasn't been a regular there since April 17. Aside from Ramirez, the Guardians have tried seven different hitters in the No. 2 spot for at least two games this season. No one has seized the spot. They tried Daniel Schneemann. They tried Lane Thomas. They experimented with Nolan Jones for a while. They threw Jhonkensy Noel, Gabriel Arias and Angel Martinez in there to see what would happen. And now the latest attempt, Bo Naylor. Advertisement Schneemann and Thomas have been the best of the group, if that word can be applied here, with a 26 and 25 wRC+, respectively. Both of their batting averages are below the Mendoza Line of .200. Schneemann has had a positive season overall, but he's been much better further down the lineup. Jones hasn't fared any better (.152 average, .200 OBP). Naylor has had only two games there, both against the Dodgers. His time in the No. 2 spot isn't off to the best start — he's 0-for-8 with five strikeouts since being moved up the order. But he's a switch hitter, which takes away the platoon advantage, and the Guardians have liked some signs from his approach at the plate lately (.846 OPS over the last two weeks), so they might stick with him a bit longer. "Bo's been working really good at-bats," Vogt said. "Again, it's no secret we've struggled to get production in the two hole, and Bo's been swinging that bat really well. It helps us with matchups, it helps us do some different things, and Bo's really earned this opportunity to go to the two hole." Travis Bazzana, Juan Brito both injured And for those dreaming that last year's No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana or Juan Brito could come to the rescue soon, that has become impossible. Bazzana is not only still in Double-A, he's sidelined for roughly two months with an oblique injury, which has lowered the chances that he makes the jump to the majors in 2025. Advertisement Brito is potentially out for the next two months or so as well after he needed thumb surgery after a strong start to the season in Triple-A. Bazzana and Brito might represent the team's best contenders for future production at second base or elsewhere in the lineup — maybe the No. 2 spot, eventually — but that won't be happening anytime soon. The top contending reinforcements aren't able to come to the rescue for quite some time. Maybe Chase DeLauter, now healthy again after missing several weeks with a core injury, can act as the calvary, though he only recently returned and has logged all of three games with Columbus. Unless DeLauter is suddenly given a quick call to the majors, the Guardians might be on their own to figure out how to best complement Kwan and Ramirez at the top of the order as they try to chase down the Detroit Tigers in the division. It is, arguably, their top priority. Perhaps Naylor can again find his swing. Or perhaps experiment No. 9 will do the trick. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians lineup needs production from No. 2 spot in 2025
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Christian Yelich sinks Red Sox with walk-off grand slam, the first walk-off HR of his career
Christian Yelich woke up Tuesday having never hit a walk-off home run in his 12-plus season MLB career. He ended the drought in grand fashion Tuesday night. With his Milwaukee Brewers and the Boston Red Sox knotted in a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 10th inning, Yelich tripled the game's run tally with one swing of his bat. After Jorey Ortiz was given second base because it was extra innings, the Brewers loaded the bases with a Brice Turang single and a Jackson Chourio walk. William Contreras flied out, bringing Yelich to the plate. Yelich watched a first-pitch ball and a second-pitch strike without a swing. When Liam Hendricks left a third-pitch slider over the heart of the plate, Yelich unleashed. And there was no doubt about this one. As soon as Yelich made contact, the entirety of American Family Field knew it was gone. The ball traveled deep over the right field wall for a walk-off grand slam and a 5-1 Brewers win. GAME OVER 🚨CHRISTIAN YELICHWALK-OFF GRAND SLAM — MLB (@MLB) May 28, 2025 Before that blast, Yelich had hit 213 career home runs in the regular season. None of them were of the walk-off variety. Now Yelich knows one of the best feelings in baseball that he didn't before. 'It was kind oa a weird feeling going around the bases knowing that the game's over," Yelich told reporters postgame. "Obviously, I've never done that before.' Yelich's heroics provided the Brewers with a much-needed win as they improved to .500 at 28-28 in a crowded NL Central and race for the NL wild card. They also provided a boost to the former MVP, who's off to a slow start this season and entered Tuesday's game flirting with the Mendoza Line with a .205/.294/.364 slash line with nine home runs and 30 RBI. Yelich finished the night going 2 for 5 at the plate with two runs scored and the grand slam providing all four of his RBI.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
2025 Fantasy Baseball rest-of-season rankings: Catchers
Catchers are often a lesser consideration in fantasy baseball leagues that require just one starter, but we want a right answer at every position. So let's throw the backstops through the Shuffle Up car wash today, figure out how they rank rest of season. Please roll up your windows, put your car in neutral. [Smarter waivers, better trades, optimized lineups — Yahoo Fantasy Plus unlocks it all] Everything to this point is an audition. Assume a 5x5 scoring system. Players at the same salary are considered even. Consider this list as you self scout your roster, work on trades and pickups, or perhaps even draft a fresh league starting from scratch. $22 Cal Raleigh $18 Will Smith $16 Logan O'Hoppe $16 William Contreras $16 Salvador Pérez $15 Hunter Goodman $15 Shea Langeliers $14 Willson Contreras Raleigh has become the perfect player at the position, clearly separating himself. Consider his ranks among qualified catchers: he's first in plate appearances, runs, home runs, RBI and steals. He's also coming off a Gold Glove season, marking his spot in the lineup. Imagine if Raleigh wasn't held down by Seattle's ballpark — his OPS is 242 points higher on the road. But Raleigh is a right answer in any stadium in 2025. Goodman has picked up 23 DH starts in addition to his 27 catcher starts, which explains him leading the position in at-bats. Volume is always a key for any fantasy sport. Goodman should get a kick from Coors Field but that hasn't happened yet — his OPS is 192 points higher on the road. Expect that outlier to iron itself out during the summer. The Rockies don't have much to offer us, but Goodman has been a find this season. O'Hoppe's game is raw power and it's validated through the metrics — his expected slugging is a juicy .541 and his hard-hit rate is in the 93th percentile. He rarely walks and he strikes out a third of the time, but given how explosive his connections are, we won't sweat that approach. The .323 BABIP leads to a plus average, and that's supported by the consistent squaring of the baseball. Pérez might be the best buy-low in baseball. His expected stats suggest a .293 average and .527 slugging; his back of card stats read .226 and .357, respectively. There's nothing wrong with him. Pérez somehow went 31 games without a homer, but he did knock two balls out of the park last week. The perfect time to act is now. $12 Carson Kelly $10 Ivan Herrera $10 Bo Naylor $9 Austin Wells $8 Carlos Narváez $8 Adley Rutschman We talked about Narváez as a pickup in Monday's piece, so all that stuff carries over to here. He's also marking his territory with excellent defense, shoving Connor Wong out of the way. And with the Red Sox dealing with injuries and underperformance on their offense, Narváez is getting better lineup real estate of late. This feels legit. Although Wells is just a tick above the Mendoza Line, he still grades as the C10 in banked 5x5 value because of regular playing time, eight home runs, and a whopping 31 RBI. Lineup buoyancy matters. Rutschman is starting to give off all those Matt Wieters vibes, a scary thing. Both were lofty draft picks who arrived in the majors as fully-formed contributors, but we have to note Wieters was done as a plus offensive player by his age-26 season. Is history repeating itself? Rutschman turned 27 in February. The luck stats point to a possible rebound, suggesting that Rutschman is due 57 points in batting average and 120 points in slugging. But the granular stats tell us he earned last year's mediocre .250/.318/.391 slash. $6 Gabriel Moreno $6 JT Realmuto $6 Agustín Ramírez $5 Miguel Amaya* (on IL with oblique strain) $5 Dillon Dingler $5 Jonah Heim $5 Drake Baldwin $5 Keibert Ruiz $5 Sean Murphy $5 Alejandro Kirk $4 Jose Trevino $4 Ryan Jeffers $4 Tyler Stephenson $4 Francisco Alvarez Dingler wasn't Detroit's primary catcher when the season started but he's earned the job through an unexpected offensive profile and plus defense (he's fourth in defensive WAR). The offense comes as a surprise, as Dingler didn't hit a lick in a 27-game trial last season (to be fair, that came on the heels of 71 excellent games at Triple-A). The Ohio State product and former second-round pick is settling in nicely in The Thumb. Perhaps the mileage is starting to catch up to Realmuto, who is a below-average offensive player for the first time in 10 years. He's even become somewhat of a rally killer, grounding into 10 double plays. He started the year in a decent lineup slot, but these days he's usually batting seventh. Although his walk rate is up and his strikeout rate is stable, declining bat speed mutes the effectiveness of his contact. This is what an age-34 season often looks like at baseball's most demanding position. $3 Victor Caratini $3 Joey Bart $2 Liam Hicks $1 Yainer Diaz $1 Pedro Pagés $1 Mitch Garver $1 Danny Jansen $1 Patrick Bailey $1 Kyle Higashioka $1 Dalton Rushing $1 Travis d'Arnaud $0 Connor Wong If your league requires two catchers, note Caratini is picking up extra DH work for Houston while Yordan Álvarez is on the IL. Caratini is slashing .283/.353/.433 in May. Bailey's outstanding defense keeps him on the field, but his leaky bat (.172 average, 32.7% strikeouts, just one homer) keeps him off the fantasy radar. The San Francisco pitchers appreciate him, anyway.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
2025 Fantasy Baseball rest-of-season rankings: Catchers
Catchers are often a lesser consideration in fantasy baseball leagues that require just one starter, but we want a right answer at every position. So let's throw the backstops through the Shuffle Up car wash today, figure out how they rank rest of season. Please roll up your windows, put your car in neutral. [Smarter waivers, better trades, optimized lineups — Yahoo Fantasy Plus unlocks it all] Everything to this point is an audition. Assume a 5x5 scoring system. Players at the same salary are considered even. Consider this list as you self scout your roster, work on trades and pickups, or perhaps even draft a fresh league starting from scratch. $22 Cal Raleigh $18 Will Smith $16 Logan O'Hoppe $16 William Contreras $16 Salvador Pérez $15 Hunter Goodman $15 Shea Langeliers $14 Willson Contreras Raleigh has become the perfect player at the position, clearly separating himself. Consider his ranks among qualified catchers: he's first in plate appearances, runs, home runs, RBI and steals. He's also coming off a Gold Glove season, marking his spot in the lineup. Imagine if Raleigh wasn't held down by Seattle's ballpark — his OPS is 242 points higher on the road. But Raleigh is a right answer in any stadium in 2025. Goodman has picked up 23 DH starts in addition to his 27 catcher starts, which explains him leading the position in at-bats. Volume is always a key for any fantasy sport. Goodman should get a kick from Coors Field but that hasn't happened yet — his OPS is 192 points higher on the road. Expect that outlier to iron itself out during the summer. The Rockies don't have much to offer us, but Goodman has been a find this season. O'Hoppe's game is raw power and it's validated through the metrics — his expected slugging is a juicy .541 and his hard-hit rate is in the 93th percentile. He rarely walks and he strikes out a third of the time, but given how explosive his connections are, we won't sweat that approach. The .323 BABIP leads to a plus average, and that's supported by the consistent squaring of the baseball. Pérez might be the best buy-low in baseball. His expected stats suggest a .293 average and .527 slugging; his back of card stats read .226 and .357, respectively. There's nothing wrong with him. Pérez somehow went 31 games without a homer, but he did knock two balls out of the park last week. The perfect time to act is now. $12 Carson Kelly $10 Ivan Herrera $10 Bo Naylor $9 Austin Wells $8 Carlos Narváez $8 Adley Rutschman We talked about Narváez as a pickup in Monday's piece, so all that stuff carries over to here. He's also marking his territory with excellent defense, shoving Connor Wong out of the way. And with the Red Sox dealing with injuries and underperformance on their offense, Narváez is getting better lineup real estate of late. This feels legit. Although Wells is just a tick above the Mendoza Line, he still grades as the C10 in banked 5x5 value because of regular playing time, eight home runs, and a whopping 31 RBI. Lineup buoyancy matters. Rutschman is starting to give off all those Matt Wieters vibes, a scary thing. Both were lofty draft picks who arrived in the majors as fully-formed contributors, but we have to note Wieters was done as a plus offensive player by his age-26 season. Is history repeating itself? Rutschman turned 27 in February. The luck stats point to a possible rebound, suggesting that Rutschman is due 57 points in batting average and 120 points in slugging. But the granular stats tell us he earned last year's mediocre .250/.318/.391 slash. $6 Gabriel Moreno $6 JT Realmuto $6 Agustín Ramírez $5 Miguel Amaya* (on IL with oblique strain) $5 Dillon Dingler $5 Jonah Heim $5 Drake Baldwin $5 Keibert Ruiz $5 Sean Murphy $5 Alejandro Kirk $4 Jose Trevino $4 Ryan Jeffers $4 Tyler Stephenson $4 Francisco Alvarez Dingler wasn't Detroit's primary catcher when the season started but he's earned the job through an unexpected offensive profile and plus defense (he's fourth in defensive WAR). The offense comes as a surprise, as Dingler didn't hit a lick in a 27-game trial last season (to be fair, that came on the heels of 71 excellent games at Triple-A). The Ohio State product and former second-round pick is settling in nicely in The Thumb. Perhaps the mileage is starting to catch up to Realmuto, who is a below-average offensive player for the first time in 10 years. He's even become somewhat of a rally killer, grounding into 10 double plays. He started the year in a decent lineup slot, but these days he's usually batting seventh. Although his walk rate is up and his strikeout rate is stable, declining bat speed mutes the effectiveness of his contact. This is what an age-34 season often looks like at baseball's most demanding position. $3 Victor Caratini $3 Joey Bart $2 Liam Hicks $1 Yainer Diaz $1 Pedro Pagés $1 Mitch Garver $1 Danny Jansen $1 Patrick Bailey $1 Kyle Higashioka $1 Dalton Rushing $1 Travis d'Arnaud $0 Connor Wong If your league requires two catchers, note Caratini is picking up extra DH work for Houston while Yordan Álvarez is on the IL. Caratini is slashing .283/.353/.433 in May. Bailey's outstanding defense keeps him on the field, but his leaky bat (.172 average, 32.7% strikeouts, just one homer) keeps him off the fantasy radar. The San Francisco pitchers appreciate him, anyway.
