Lourdes Gurriel Jr., OF, ARI
Gurriel went 4 for 4 with a homer and a double on Monday evening in Philly. The perfect night at the dish extended his hitting streak to twelve games and raised his average to .321 on the season. The 29-year-old has been on a tear this month, hitting .417 with seven homers and six doubles in his last 69 plate appearances. Gurriel seems to be seeing the ball better and is forcing pitchers to come to him. Since May 3rd, he owns a 24.6% O-Swing% and 4.3% SwStr%. During the month of play prior to that, those numbers were at 32.8% and 7.4%, respectively. With a .400 wOBA and 152 wRC+, Gurriel's season numbers are fantastic due to the recent surge. He will likely cool off soon, but he is available in 42.8% of ESPN leagues if you want to ride him for a while.
Kyle Schwarber, OF, PHI
Schwarber went 1 for 3 with a solo home run and a walk on Monday night. The homer was his second in the past three games and his 12th on the season. The 30-year-old continues to be a "three true outcome" hitter; he owns a 16.1% BB% and 29.6% K%, while 12 of his 29 hits have left the park. This worked well enough last season for Schwarber when he smacked 46 homers and drove in 100 despite toting a .218 average. However, he isn't hitting the ball as well this season, so his current .177/.322/.421 triple-slash line is tough to swallow. Through 199 plate appearances this season Scwarber's HardHit% is down 8.8%, and his Barrel% is down 7.5% from 2022. He will be tough to stomach in most fantasy formats if he continues to hit below the Mendoza line, even if he eclipses the 40-homer mark again.
Jarred Kelenic, OF, SEA
Kelenic went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBI on Monday night. The homer was his second in as many games and his 10th on the season. Kelenic seems to be figuring some things out in his third season of major league action. With a 30.7 O-Swing% and 28.9% K%, he has still been very aggressive at the plate, but he has been hitting the ball much better. Kelenic's 81.6% Z-Contact% is up 6.3% from last season while his 48.6% HardHit% is up 13.6%. To say the 23-year-old has been impressive this season would be an understatement; he is slashing .297/.350/.564 with a .388 wOBA and 154 wRC+ in 180 plate appearances.
Tucupita Marcano, SS/2B, PIT
Marcano went 2 for 3 with a Grand Slam on Monday night. The 23-year-old middle-infielder now has two homers to go along with a solid .268/.350/.437 triple-slash line this season. Marcano is amidst his most consistent stretch in the majors since coming up from triple-A on April 15th. He has been up and down between the minors and MLB the past two seasons, but with some adjustments at the plate to start this season, Marcano has been a mainstay in the Pirates lineup over the past month. The youngster came into the season with a 24.9% K% and 17.2% HardHit% in 177 plate appearances. Through 83 PAs this season, Marcano has posted a 12.0% K% and an impressive 41.0% HardHit%.
Josh Jung, 3B, TEX
Jung extended his hitting streak to six games with a 2 for 4 night that included a two-run homer. It was his second consecutive game with a home run, giving him ten on the season. Jung is a tough guy to trust due to his hefty 30.2% K%, however, he has been hitting the ball in the air and with authority this season. The 25-year-old owns a 44.8% FB% and 48.3% HardHit%. Jung's aggressive approach at the plate makes him a feast or famine type hitter, but the numbers he has produced thus far will play. He is slashing .263/.312/.474 with a .338 wOBA and 115 wRC+ through 189 plate appearances.
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