MLB News
Time/Place: 8:00 p.m., Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Media: FOX Sports, ESPN Radio (Pre-Game coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Pitching Matchup: AL- RHP Dylan Cease (6-4, 2.56 ERA) NL- LHP Cristopher Sánchez (11-4, 2.62 ERA)
This week’s All-Star Week festivities got off to a bombastic start on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, with outstanding performances from established sluggers and burgeoning stars alike in the Home Run Derby. The spectacle of Jordan Walker silencing a partisan Philadelphia crowd with six consecutive bombs to snatch the title from Kyle Schwarber will be hard to top in terms of pure theatre, but let’s see what the Midsummer Classic itself has to offer!
Tonight, the Yankees will have both Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger representing them in the American League’s starting lineup; they’ll take on Philadelphia ace Cristopher Sánchez on his home mound as the Senior Circuit seeks to claim their second straight victory in the main event. The AL had mounted a late-inning comeback to erase a 6-0 lead, but Schwarber ultimately led the NL to victory by winning a Derby-esque swing-off challenge which replaced extra innings.
Of course, two other Yankees were named All-Stars this season: Aaron Judge and Cam Schlittler. Judge is still working his way back from the rib fracture he sustained in the first week of June. Schlittler was about as deserving as any pitcher to get the starting nod for the AL, but owing to his start this past Saturday, opted not to participate. Strangely, Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who will be leading the American League on the field tonight, said he was always planning to tap the Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease as the starter—even if Schlittler was available to pitch. Weird move, but all right.
Bellinger and Rice will hit consecutively in Schneider’s lineup, at the sixth and seventh spot respectively. (Everybody get those jokes out of the way now.) They were not voted into starting spots, but they will each get the nod regardless due to injuries to Judge and Byron Buxton in Bellinger’s case and the combination of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s withdrawal from the event and replacement Nick Kurtz’s recent addition to the IL.
Rice participated in last night’s Home Run Derby, but failed to advance to the next round. He’ll still get a chance to show off the impressive game power which has brought him to the precipice of 30 home runs at the season’s intermission. Bellinger was slumping mightily ahead of the season’s final week, but finished strong with five hits in the last four games ahead of the break. He gets a chance to keep that momentum going against…well, somebody in the NL’s pitching staff. Since it tends to be a new face pitching every inning, and all. Just one big hit from either of them however, and they could join Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013), and Giancarlo Stanton (2022) as the only All-Star Game MVPs in Yankees history.
The AL’s lineup is quite front-loaded for pure power, with Mike Trout leading off ahead of Yordan Alvarez, A’s backstop Shea Langeliers and Junior Caminero hitting cleanup. Bobby Witt Jr. and Bellinger provide a more contact-oriented lane in the middle; though both are plenty capable of muscling up themselves. After Rice comes Detroit’s Riley Greene and, yes, the AL’s leading vote-getter, Ernie Clement. To my eye, the NL’s starting lineup is more balanced, but there’s a Ship of Theseus quality to these batting orders, of course.
How to watch
Location: Citizens Bank Park — Philadelphia, PA
First pitch: 8:00 pm ET
TV broadcast: FOX
Radio broadcast: ESPN Radio
Online stream: MLB.tv (internationally)
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Alright, folks. It’s finally here: Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin are in the starting lineup for the National League and will rep the Atlanta Braves to begin this season’s MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia. They’ll be joined by Matt Olson, Chris Sale and Raisel Iglesias, making it five Braves representatives for this season’s Midsummer Classic. It’s an exciting time and a much-needed break from what was turning into a bit of a slog as far as the regular season goes for the Braves.
There’s no mystery this time. It’s on good ol’ Fox. They’re telling you to tune in at 8:00 p.m. ET so I’d iamgine that’s when the festivities will get started.
Gracelyn did a post on it once the lineups were released on Monday so go check that out for your answer as to where Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin will be hitting in the lineup to start tonight’s game.
Yep! We got our first taste of it last year when the All-Star Game was at Truist Park and that format is still in place. If it does go to a swing-off then 2026 MLB Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker, Hunter Goodman and James Wood will swing for the National League. The AL has selected Randy Arozarena, Willson Contreras and Munetaka Murakami to swing for them in case it comes down to it.
Let’s have some fun, shall we? Sam will be coming with the recap later tonight, so stay tuned for that.
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Starting pitcher for the AL is Toronto’s Dylan Cease, the first Blue Jay to do so since 2009, when Roy Halladay did so. On the mound for the NL will be Cristopher Sánchez of the hometown Phillies. Weirdly, the last Phillies pitcher to start the All-Star Game was… Roy Halladay, in 2011.
This is the 96th All-Star Game, and you can watch on Fox. Coverage started at 3:30 pm Arizona time, but I’m scheduling this to avoid most of the large quantity of bloviating before the game starts, some time after 5 pm. It’s the first time the contest has been at Citizens Bank Park: the last occasion in Philadelphia was exactly thirty years ago, at Veterans Stadium. No D-backs were involved in that contest. 🙂 Though future player Roberto Alomar was. The AL currently leads the series with a 48–45–2 (.516) record, and a 388–380 run advantage. The leagues have alternated wins the last four times: in 2025, the NL prevailed in the first ever swing-off tiebreaker, after blowing a 6-0 lead.
With Citizens Bank Park crossed off the list, that just leaves new Yankee Stadium, Tropicana Field and Sutter Health Park as the only currently active ballparks never to have held an All-Star Game. The last-named – home of the [THIS SPACE FOR RENT] Athletics, in case you were wondering – is for obvious reasons, and the Yankees did have the ASG in their old park relatively recently, in 2008. But the lack of an ASG for our expansion siblings, fifteen years after Arizona got one, is a little odd. I imagine MLB is using it as pressure: “Get a new park and we’ll give you an All-Star Game!” The hope is for the Rays to get a new park for 2029, but I’m severely doubtful.
We will see when and if the two Arizona Diamondbacks on the NL roster get into the game: Corbin Carroll and Eduardo Rodriguez. I’d be particularly happy to see ERod, finally making it into the All-Star Game in his 11th season. Obviously, the record for most seasons before appearing in an All-Star Game belongs to Babe Ruth, who only got selected in his 20th season. That would be because there wasn’t an All-Star Game for the first nineteen. But excluding those early days, only three players have had a longer wait than Eduardo’s 11 seasons to get into the Midsummer Classic, lead by Raul Ibanez who was in his 14th season when picked in 2009.
The Los Angeles area teams will be well represented at the 2026 MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, on Tuesday, July 14.
The event serves as a homecoming of sorts for Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout. The three-time MVP is a New Jersey native but has deep ties to Philadelphia, which is located 45 miles south of his hometown.
Trout recently returned from the injured list last week before hitting a two-run home run in the Angels' 13-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on July 8. The home run came on the 15th anniversary of his major league debut.
He had missed 17 games after he suffered a right hamstring strain while running the bases during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 17.
The Los Angeles Dodgers tied for the most selections with six. Four of the six players will be starters for the National League, which is a league-best. First baseman Freddie Freeman, third baseman Max Muncy, outfielder Andy Pages and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani were also named as starters.
Ohtani was the league's leading vote-getter but withdrew from the game due to inflammation and irritation in his left knee. The discomfort in the knee impacted his pitching mechanics, and he was recently pulled from a scheduled start for the Dodgers.
Ohtani has 98 hits, 65 runs, 22 home runs and 58 RBIs in 88 games played. On the mound, he's produced an 8-2 record in 14 starts, allowing 55 hits, 21 runs (17 earned runs) and four home runs. He has struck out 95 and walked 26.
Pages is one of 26 first-time All-Stars. He joins Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh. Pages has complemented his defensive play for the Dodgers in center field with 16 home runs and an .808 OPS.
Right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and left-hander Justin Wrobleski will represent the Dodgers as NL pitchers.
Dave Roberts will serve as the National League manager for the game. He is serving as an All-Star Game skipper for the fifth time in his career.
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly will serve on Roberts' staff. Mattingly was previously the manager for the Dodgers from 2011 to 2015.
The game’s first pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT). It will be broadcast on FOX.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers, Mike Trout prepare for California MLB All-Star Game takeover
I’m not the target market for the All-Star game. I’ll likely watch until Clement bats. And I’m interested in watching how Dylan Cease does. I’m happy for him getting the starting role.
The lineups:
I did watch the World Cup game today and was surprised that Spain beat France so easily. Tomorrow, I have more skin in the game, my parents were from England and so I cheer for them (as well as Canada, who had a terrific run this time).
And there is this, which is absolutely stupid:
Here are the lineups. For the National League and the American League:
Let’s talk about it.
It’s arrived folks! The 2026 version of the Midsummer Classic, pitting the best of the National League against the best of the American League. The Junior Circuit currently leads the all-time series 48-44-3, with the Senior Circuit riding a one-year winning streak after taking last year’s All Star Game. Can the AL bounce back and get the victory, or will the NL make it two straight years taking home the All Star Game trophy?
For A’s fans, we’ll have the treat of watching Shea Langeliers making the start behind home plate this evening. He’ll be catching Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease. ‘Bangeliers’ will also be occupying a spot of honor in the starting lineup, batting third between Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez and Rays third baseman Junior Caminero. Langeliers is guaranteed one at bat but could end up with a couple trips to the plate, depending on how AL manager John Schneider decides to go with him. What are the chances the first-time All Star comes away with the MVP tonight?
Langeliers should have had one of his teammates take the field with him tonight. Alas, a right thumb sprain will prevent Nick Kurtz from taking part in his first All Star game, with Yankees first baseman Ben Rice taking his spot. Kurtz wasn’t elected the starter at first base but after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. decided not to take part Kurtz was named the replacement at first by Schneider. A well-deserved honor, but unfortunately the injury will keep him out tonight. At least he’s still gotten to be around his fellow stars and take part in this week’s festivities.
Here’s how the American League will line up for tonight’s exhibition contest:
And here’s how the National League’s lineup will look, courtesy of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts:
First pitch is at 5:00 but the festivities are just getting underway now. Enjoy the game everyone!
First Pitch: 7:00 PM CDT
TV: FOX
Radio: ESPN Radio, TUDN
Hey now, you’re an All Star:NL & AL Rosters
Cristopher Sanchez from the Phillies gets to start on his home mound at Citizens Bank Park, with the AL sending out Dylan Cease from the Blue Jays. This is the first time the ASG has been hosted at this park, but Philly has hosted the contest four times prior.
The Twins have two players selected as All Stars this year, Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan. Buxton is unfortunately injured, so we can only hope that Joe will pitch at some point. If we expand our definition of “Twin” to include former Twins, Louis Varland (TOR) is out there in the bullpen for the AL and Jhoan Duran (PHI) for the NL.
John Schneider’s American League:
Dave Roberts’ National League
Major League Baseball’s night to celebrate its own has finally arrived. The 96th Midsummer Classic begins at 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. PDT) tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. This is the fifth time an All-Star Game has been held in Philly, but the first time at Citizens Bank Park.
The A’s are represented by two deserving All-stars, Shea Langeliers who will be the American League (AL) starting catcher, batting third in the lineup and Nick Kurtz who unfortunately can’t play due to his thumb injury. Both were seen reveling in the excitement of the Home Run Derby last night.
Starting for the AL is Toronto’s ace Dylan Cease. Cease is currently 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA in seventeen starts. The 30-year-old righty has notched 148 strikeouts in 98.1 innings for the Jays this season. It’s his first All-star game appearance.
Taking the ball for the National League (NL) is Philadelphia’s own, Cristopher Sánchez. He’s the first Phillies pitcher to get the nod since Roy Halliday in 2011. This year, Sánchez is 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA in twenty starts. He’s struck out 144 batters in 127.1 innings. The 29-year-old lefty was an NL All-star in 2024.
Managing the team for the American League is John Schneider of the defending AL champion Blue Jays. He’ll start this lineup for the visiting team:
Dave Roberts, skipper of the World Series champion Dodgers, will present this lineup to start the game for the National League:
Here are the full rosters for both leagues: https://www.mlb.com/news/2026-all-star-game-rosters.
Follow the Game:
Watch:
National – FOX
Listen:
ESPN Radio, TUDN
Mike Trout – CF (Los Angeles Angels)
Yordan Alvarez – DH (Houston Astros)
Shea Langeliers – C (Athletics)
Junior Caminero – 3B (Tampa Bay Rays)
Bobby Witt Jr. – SS (Kansas City Royals)
Cody Bellinger – RF (New York Yankees)
Ben Rice – 1B (New York Yankees)
Riley Greene – LF (Detroit Tigers)
Ernie Clement – 2B (Toronto Blue Jays)
SP: Dylan Cease – RHP (Toronto Blue Jays)
Kyle Schwarber – DH (Philadelphia Phillies)
Juan Soto – LF (New York Mets)
Freddie Freeman – 1B (Los Angeles Dodgers)
CJ Abrams – SS (Washington Nationals)
Max Muncy – 3B (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Ozzie Albies – 2B (Atlanta Braves)
Brandon Marsh – RF (Philadelphia Phillies)
Andy Pages – CF (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Drake Baldwin – C (Atlanta Braves)
SP: Cristopher Sánchez – LHP
First pitch: 8:00 PM EDT
TV: FOX
Radio: ESPN Radio
Tonight is the MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia, and many of the best players from around the league will be in the game. For the Brewers, only two players were named to this year’s team: Jacob Misiorowski and William Contreras.
The only player who will appear in tonight’s game is Contreras. It has been another solid season for him, who has posted a .282/.344/.398 batting line with nine home runs and 53 RBIs. He will appear as a reserve during the game in the later innings.
The other Brewer on this year’s team is Jacob Misiorowski. This is his second straight season where he has been named an All-Star. However, he will not appear in this year’s game as he rests up due to some fatigue that he was feeling before the break.
Here are the starting lineups for tonight’s game. Cristopher Sánchez will start the game for the National League, and Dylan Cease will get the ball first for the American League. The full rosters for each team can be found here. First pitch is at 7 p.m. on FOX.
It’s the Midsummer Classic tonight in Philadelphia, just a few weeks after America’s 250th birthday. Is that why it’s in Philadelphia? Who knows?
The Red Sox have several representatives this year, which is kind of crazy given how most of this season has gone. Ceddanne Rafaela, Willson Contreras, and Aroldis Chapman are representing the team tonight, while Ranger Suarez was also named an All-Star but isn’t participating due to injury. Is there anything you’d like to see? Personally, I think it would be funny if Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch in a way that doesn’t hurt him. Has a suspended player ever played in the All-Star Game? Ceddanne making a diving catch would be a nice way for him to introduce himself to a wider audience, too.
First pitch will be some time after 8 PM (who knows what kind of pregame stuff they have planned) on FOX.
Lineups:
Spirits are high at the MLB All-Star festivities.
The event is being held in Philadelphia, where the league is celebrating all things United States just weeks after the country's 250th anniversary.
Jordan Walker got the world of baseball charged up when he became the first St. Louis Cardinals player to win the Home Run Derby on Monday, July 13. He was among the stars walking the red carpet ahead of the All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 14. The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers were represented well by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and reliever Aroldis Chapman of the Boston Red Sox brought the swag.
Across the afternoon, there were cleverly coordinated outfits with loved ones, pops of color and incredible accessories.
Here are the best looks of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game red carpet:
Jacob Latz did a neutral look really well. His suit was a warm tan color and the jacket had large pockets to add something interesting. This is one of 11 looks that designer Tom Marchitelli did through his Gentleman's Playbook brand.
Jordan Walker strutted the red carpet with a fresh confidence after winning Monday's Home Run Derby. The Cardinals' right fielder looked like a winner in an all-black suit with a subtle checkerboard pattern. The black dress shirt underneath and single chain completed the sharp statement.
Red carpet ready 📸 pic.twitter.com/Lm4Wi48xbJ
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 14, 2026
Jordan Walker on the red carpet pic.twitter.com/GYq4e85Giv
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 14, 2026
Luis Arráez was fresh in a mint green suit by Tom Marchitelli of Gentleman's Playbook. It was tailored superbly and the white undershirt with a mandarin collar was a fashion-forward choice. The best part was how he matched with his wife and daughters.
Cam Schlittler put a cool twist on the Yankees classic pinstripes. The pitcher wore a cream double breasted suit with muted baby blue pinstripes. His undershirt was striped too! The cuffed trousers and white sneakers gave this an easy breezy vibe.
Ozzie Albies won the coordination game. He wore a white suit with a tropical teal silk undershirt. His wife, Andreia, wore the reverse look, a white corseted top with a pant suit made of the same tropical teal material. Obsessed.
Aroldis Chapman brought something DIFFERENT to the MLB All-Star red carpet. The Red Sox reliever channeled a '90s rap star with his white tweed suit, sparkly black undershirt, diamond chain and a bucket hat. Momma said strike you out.
Wow 💎
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) July 14, 2026
Aroldis Chapman all 💎’d out for MLB’s All-Star Red Carpet Show
Visit https://t.co/YpffE0ONEN#MLB#AllStarGame #LatinoSports#DirtyWater#Philadelphia#RedSox | @mlbespanolpic.twitter.com/GGuHbUi4lR
Aroldis Chapman and his family on the red carpet pic.twitter.com/10nYzH8tqT
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 14, 2026
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the definition of dapper and hit a home run with this look. He wore a well-fitting black suit with a white dress shirt, crisp black crossover tie and square-toed boots. If he hadn't already won, a Rolex watch and a three-tiered pearl pant chain are ELITE.
A classy look from Yoshinobu Yamamoto at the @Mastercard All-Star Red Carpet Show 🙌 pic.twitter.com/I2BpeUeR9U
— MLB (@MLB) July 14, 2026
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB All-Star fit check: Jordan Walker, Ozzie Albies, Yoshinobu Yamamoto turn heads
The second half of the 2026 MLB season is around the corner, and there's still time to make up ground in your fantasy baseball leagues. If you’ve dealt with injuries or poor performance or just can’t quite seem to string together consistent success, there is still time to make tweaks to get your team to a title.
Similarly, there is still time for players to make tweaks to find another level of success. For some, we’ve been seeing the groundwork for that success laid already. In this article, I’m going to highlight hitters who may have failed to meet our expectations over the entirety of the first half but are doing some intriguing things with the bat over the last few weeks.
To do that, I created a leaderboard of hitters with at least 30 plate appearances between May 18th and July 12th (about six weeks). I looked at hard-hit rate, barrel rate, swinging strike rate, and overall plate discipline (which I used as Z-Swing% - O-Swing%). I then removed anybody who had been clearly below average in any category. I also searched by wRC+ and removed anybody who had clearly been above average overall, since most of those players have already been producing and don't need to bounce back or break through. (I did leave on a few hitters with good wRC+ marks who weren't rostered in enough fantasy leagues, but we'll get to that soon).
Since this article is based on recent MLB performance, I should make it clear that it does not feature injured players or rookies who will be making their debut after the All-Star break (Joshua Baez). It also doesn’t include players who have played well but might gain value in a new role (like Justin Foscue or Andrew Vaughn). I’m simply focusing on players who either struggled to meet our expectations in the first half, but are players I think are due for much better months in August and September.
So who are they?
These are all players whose wRC+ over the last 5-6 weeks is already good but are simply rostered in too few fantasy baseball leagues based on their recent production. For this, I used Yahoo roster rates.
Listen, you don't need me to tell you about what Esmerlyn Valdez is doing, and my colleague James Schiano recorded a video on him during the All-Star break. The 15.6% swinging strike rate (SwStr%) is concerning, and the overall contact rate is bad, so this might not last. However, the power is very real, and he actually doesn't chase out of the zone much. That doesn't help alleviate the concern that his contact rate is so poor, but the contact metrics are all there for him, so he should at least be added everywhere to see if he can keep this up.
James and I have also written about Cole Young and A.J. Ewing a bunch in our weekly waiver wire articles in recent weeks. Last week, we mentioned that Ewing is hitting .274 since May 18th with six home runs, 22 runs scored, 21 RBI, and seven steals. He has started to lift the ball a touch more, which has led to more barrels to go along with his 42.6% hard-hit rate. He's hitting leadoff pretty consistently for the Mets now, which adds to his value. Similarly, over the same stretch, Cole Young is hitting .257 with eight home runs, 25 runs scored, and 17 RBI. He's starting to drive the ball a little more and get to the pull side more often (54% pull rate over this stretch), which has led to league-average hard-hit rates. Like with Ewing, it’s nice to see a young player adjusting and finding an approach that works for him, and we like that Young is finding more pitches he can drive out of the yard.
Josh Bell is a streaky veteran, but he is selling out for power more this season, and he's been hitting the ball well heading into the break with 10 home runs, an 11.8% barrel rate, and a 45% hard-hit rate since May 18th. It may not last, or he may be traded if Minnesota falls out of the playoff race, but the results have been there right now. Andrew Benintendi is another oft-ignored veteran who is producing better than people might expect, hitting .240 since May 18th but with seven home runs, 27 RBI, elite swing decisions, and a better-than-average barrel rate and hard-hit rate. It's not sexy, but it gets the job done. Similarly, Ty France has taken over as the primary first baseman in San Diego and produced with a .260 average since May 18th to go along with seven home runs, 19 RBI, an 8.4% barrel rate, and a 45.3% hard-hit rate. He has a 42.1% Z-Swing% - O-Swing%, so even though he expands the zone a little more than we'd like, he's also hyper aggressive in the zone, which has helped level it out.
In the off-season, I mentioned Heliot Ramos as a potential breakout hitter this season because he was entering his athletic prime and was having a really good season last year before some defensive miscues led to mental struggles that carried over into the batter's box. This season, Ramos got off to a slow start and then got hurt, but since May 18th, he has a 21% barrel rate, a 58% hard-hit rate, and an 18.8% blasts per contact rate. Blasts are a Statcast metric that measures when a batter squares up a ball and does so at a high bat speed. According to Statcast research, blasts lead to a .563 batting average, 1.182 slugging percentage, and a +34 Run Value. Non-blasted batted balls come out to a .231 batting average, .295 slugging percentage, and -5 Run Value. So, pretty clearly, blasts are usually balls that result in impactful contact, and Ramos' 18.8% mark is well above the league average of 13.3%. I was in on Ramos before the season, so I'm still in now.
Caissie currently being on the injured list likely hurts his roster rate, as does his 16.6% SwStr% since May 18th. However, I think Caissie can have fantasy value even with elevated swing and miss because of his quality of contact. He's likely never going to hit for a super high batting average, but he is hitting .271 since May 18th despite that elevated SwStr%. Part of that is because he has a 20.3% barrel rate, 51% hard-hit rate, and 21.3% blasts per contact. Caissie also has a better-than-league-average Z-Swing%-O-Swing% because he has a league-average zone swing rate and a better-than-average chase rate. That lets us know that a lot of the swing-and-miss isn't about swing decisions; it's about the consequence of looking to drive the ball out of the yard on most of his swings. We'd still rather he make more contact, but if he's going to do damage when he does make contact, we can take that gamble.
Karros has quietly been one of the most impactful hitters in baseball over the last 6-8 weeks. Since May 18th, he's hitting .297 with an 11.2% barrel rate, 47.4% hard-hit rate, and elite 43.8% Z-Swing% - O-Swing%. The league average since May 18th is 35.3%. Karros is not only very aggressive in the zone, but he doesn't chase outside of the zone. Pair that with an above-average barrel rate and home games played in Coors Field, and I think he deserves more love in fantasy leagues and is not just a Coors-only play.
We featured Mitchell in our waiver wire articles a bunch earlier in the season, and he’s back to putting up really solid numbers. Since May 18th, he's hitting .315 with six home runs, 24 runs scored, and 21 RBI. That’s with a 14.8% barrel rate, a 50.4% hard-hit rate, and 24.7% blasts per contact. The tools have always been loud, but the plate approach has been the question. Over this stretch, he has a 16.4% swinging strike rate, but his 29.3% chase rate and 82.2% zone contact rate are actually improvements from what we’ve seen before and are more in line with MLB averages. In fact, his Z-Swing% - O-Swing% is above average over this span, so maybe Mitchell is learning to make better swing decisions. Like with Caissie, he will likely always have some swing-and-miss to his game, but he may be able to mitigate the risk of that with improved discipline.
You'd be forgiven for not realizing that Seigler is hitting .257 in 85 plate appearances since May 18th, with 13 runs scored, and has been the regular leadoff man for the Red Sox. Seigler, who also came over in the Kyle Harrison trade with the Brewers, has a below-average barrel rate, but has been league-average with his hard-hit rate and makes elite swing decisions. He also has just an 8.1% swinging strike rate and has the profile of a solid top-of-the-order hitter for Boston. He doesn't have tons of fantasy upside because he lacks significant power, but he could be a solid source of average and runs and should be added in most deeper formats,
We've seen Thomas have stretches of prolonged fantasy relevance before, and he's enjoying a nice stretch of late. Since May 18th, he's hitting .253 with six home runs, 18 runs scored, and 23 RBI in 166 plate appearances. That comes with an 8% barrel rate, 43.8% hard-hit rate, and 15.8% blasts per contact, which are all above average. He has also been making elite swing decisions, with a 42.7% Z-Swing% - O-Swing% (reminder that 35.3% is average). Even with Vinnie Pasquantino back, Thomas has continued to play regularly and should be rostered in far more leagues.
Now we'll focus on some hitters who are actually producing at below league-average rates over the last six weeks.
More than a few names on this list are veterans who have not produced to their usual level over the last six weeks. You're probably not cutting any of Christian Yelich, Christian Walker, Ian Happ, or Alec Bohm, but you're certainly getting scared or feeling disappointed. Walker is probably the toughest bet to bounce back. Most of his metrics here are league average, but even a league-average barrel rate and hard-hit rate with above-average swing decisions should lead to an above-average performance. Bohm, oddly, has the highest barrel rate of the group since May 18th. He also has an above-average hard-hit rate and makes elite swing decisions while playing in a good lineup in a good home park. The story of a rebound is easy to tell yourself. Happ and Yelich both have hard-hit rates around 42% and league-average barrel rates while making above-average swing decisions. I don't see either one of them getting back to their peak value, but they should at least be solid hitters who are still running a little bit as well.
I should note that Jacob Gonzalez should not be on this list. He did qualify with a 41% hard-hit rate in his 98 plate appearances, and his overall Z-Swing% - O-Swing% was above average, but you could say he kept his head above water in his MLB debut, not much more. He was then demoted to Triple-A as Munetaka Murakami returned from the injured list but was then quickly traded to the Pirates on Friday for the 34th pick in Saturday’s draft. The Pirates apparently wanted Gonzalez, a minor league shortstop, to replace Konnor Griffin in the short term. His Triple-A numbers were great, and there's a chance he gets to play regularly for a good Pirates offense, so maybe we see that breakthrough.
I already wrote about Jackson Merrill recently when looking at hitters who should be hitting for more power. In that article, I mentioned that Merrill had an above-average barrel rate and Pull Air% but should see more home runs in the humid air and with less drag on the ball. He's making good swing decisions and being really aggressive in the zone with above-average bat speed, which should all work. He's perhaps being too aggressive outside of the zone, which has added more swing-and-miss to his game, but he feels too talented to let that continue.
I feel like I can't quit Cam Smith. In the preseason, he was my runner-up choice to be a second-year breakout, and the season has not been kind to him. He's hitting just .218 in 94 games with 12 home runs and 34 RBI. Yet, if you isolate from May 18th on, a few interesting things stand out. First of all, his 10.3% barrel rate, 46.3% hard-hit rate, and 20.1% blasts per contact are all well above average. He is also making really strong swing decisions, with a 41.6% Z-Swing% - O-Swing%. On top of that, he has 77 mph bat speed, which is among the top in the entire league. His SwSTr% is slightly elevated at 11.8%, and we'd love to see him hit the ball in the air more, but this is a young hitter with elite physical tools, good plate discipline, and strong quality of contact. At some point, it's going to click
It has seemingly begun to click for Jensen, who had a strong month of June, but his overall stats are below average, and his 91.9 wRC+ since May 18th is below average, so he fits on this list. We knew the power was legit with Jensen, and the barrel rate and hard-hit rate will attest to that, but it's nice to see that his plate discipline is also improving. From May 18th on, he has a 40% Z-Swing% - O-Swing%, thanks to just a 26% chase rate. He has good bat speed and makes enough contact, so there are few holes in his profile.
Some of Butler's struggles in the first half certainly came down to health. After having surgeries on both of his knees in the offseason, it's understandable that he may not have been the same hitter right out of the gates. Since May 18th, Butler is hitting just .225 in 127 plate appearances, but he has a 41.8% hard-hit rate, 14.2% blasts per contact, and a 41.1% Z-Swing% - O-Swing%. His bat speed is 74.3 mph, which is well above average, and he's not expanding the zone. These are all good things. His groundball rate is slowly decreasing, and he hit .281/.352/.438 in June, so we may be getting the old Lawrence Butler back.
You don't have to tell me that it's weird to see Victor Mesa Jr. on here. I almost didn't keep him in the article because I was so surprised he was here, but I have to trust the process on this one. In 104 plate appearances since May 18th, Mesa Jr. is hitting just .213, and I keep thinking he's going to lose playing time to Jonny DeLuca. However, Mesa Jr. also has an 8.9% barrel rate, 38.8% hard-hit rate, and elite 43.9% Z-Swing% - O-Swing%. He has 74.1 mph bat speed, is aggressive in the zone, and, despite chasing outside of the zone more than we'd like, has just a 10.6% SwStr%. He's 24 years old. He hit .329 in 18 games at Triple-A this season and .301 in 42 games there last year. I dunno. I've seen weirder things happen than that kind of profile breakthrough.
Jordan has just .237 in 83 plate appearances since coming up for the Cardinals, but there are some intriguing aspects of his approach and quality of contact. He has a league-average 7.4% barrel rate, but an above-average 44.1% hard-hit rate, and a strong 16.1% blasts per contact rate. His 73.9% zone swing rate is far above average, which helps to offset his slightly above average chase rate, and his 10.2% SwStr% is above average, so his approach doesn't lead to much swing and miss. His 73 mph bat speed is fine, and this whole approach is essentially pretty good. He has a pretty good feel for the zone. Pretty good bat speed. Pretty good contact rates and really solid hard-hit rates. Overall, that's a profile that can work in an everyday role.
I think I'm done believing in Colt Keith based on his quality of contact. He keeps showing up on leaderboards and has put up the emptiest bat speed and hard contact I've seen. But, then again, he did have one three-home-run game, so we know he has it in him. Yet, since May 18th, Keith is hitting just .194 in 135 plate appearances. Of course, that comes with a 10.6% barrel rate, 41.3% hard-hit rate, and 16% blasts per contact. He's perhaps too passive in the zone, but he also doesn't chase, so his Z-Swing% - O-Swing% is above average as well. His bat speed has dropped down to just 72.1 mph, which is only slightly above average, but he makes tons of contact and tons of hard contact, so there is always a chance this starts to work more consistently
