Corey Seager, SS, TEX
The "Seager Heater" continued on Tuesday night as the 2023 WS MVP went deep for the 7th time in as many games. The off day Monday didn't do much too cool Seager's bat. He went 1 for 3 with a homer, three RBI, and a walk in Tuesday's contest. Seager is now riding an 11-game hitting streak in which he is batting .350 with eight dingers, 12 RBI, and 10 walks. The first few games of the hitting streak don't do much so let's just look at his past seven games for fun: 9-29, 7 HR, 11 RBI, 6 BB. Seager clearly has one thing on his mind when he steps into the box right now and that is to go yard. He now has 12 homers to go along with a .259/.351/.461 triple-slash line across 222 plate appearances this season. Seager's 15.1% Barrel% is 15th best in the league while his .401 xOBA and .577 xSLG each rank in the 96th percentile. During his current hitting streak, he owns an absurd 35.4% Barrel% and 78.6% HardHit%.
Tylor Megill, SP, NYM
Megill pitched lights out against the Dodgers on Tuesday afternoon. He hurled 7.0 scoreless innings, scattering three hits and a walk while striking out nine. The 28-year-old relied heavily on his 4-seamer (53%) but worked his slider (16%) off of it to great effect. He generated five Whiffs on ten swings with his slider. Megill has missed most of the season with a right shoulder strain but has logged two impressive outings since his return from the IL. With great fastball Velo (95.8 mph) and Extension (98th percentile), the big right-hander has been racking up the Whiffs and strikeouts in his limited time this season. Megill owns a 1.69 ERA with an 11.25 K/9 and 30.8% Whiff% in his 16.0 innings. He hasn't shown much promise at the MLB level in the past but navigating 7.0 scoreless against the Dodgers lineup deserves to be commended.
Max Fried, SP, ATL
Fried tossed 8.0 innings of shutout ball against the Nats on Tuesday evening. He allowed seven hits, walked one, and fanned eight en route to his 5th win of the campaign. Fried's K% has taken a dip so far in 2024 (7.29 K/9), but it hasn't hurt him because he is creating so much weak contact. Fried's 84.1 Avg Exit Velo ranks in the 98th percentile and his 28.5% Hard-Hit% ranks in the 95th. Additionally, with his fastball getting more downward movement this season his groundball rate has gone up significantly. Coming into play Tuesday, his 64.6% GB% was well above his career 54.2% mark and ranked in the 99th percentile. The southpaw now owns a 2.97 ERA and 3.29 xFIP across 66.2 innings this season.
Josh Naylor, 1B, CLE
Naylor broke out of his recent funk in a big way on Tuesday night in Colorado, going 2 for 4 with a pair of homers and five RBI. In his previous ten games, Naylor was 3-39 (.077 avg) with eleven strikeouts. Despite the 26-year-old's recent struggles, he has hit the ball well this season and his overall numbers are solid. He has 15 homers and 40 RBI despite a lowly .234 average. Naylor has been chasing pitches, which is normal for him; however, it hasn't led to a high K-rate (15.4% K%) and he swings with authority. With a career-high 10.8% Barrel% and 43.3% Hard-Hit%, he owns a .276 ISO and .510 SLG.
Ben Brown, SP/RP, CHC
Brown tossed 7.0 no-hit innings in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. He racked up a career-high 10 Ks and walked two in the outing. The Cubs bullpen was unable to hold the lead so unfortunately Brown didn't receive a W for the best effort of his young career. He is a two-pitch pitcher and he had his curveball working last night. The Brewers offered at the curveball 20 times in the outing and came up empty on half of those swings. His high-velocity fastball (96.4 mph avg) and aforementioned devilish knucklecurve (97th run value percentile) have led to an impressive 31.0% Whiff% and 28.0% K% this season. However, coming into Tuesday's start both his 93.6 Avg Exit Velo and 56.4% Hard-Hit% ranked in the 1st percentile. He will have to add to his pitch mix before he becomes a regular starter at the big-league level.
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