Kris Bubic, SP, KC
Bubic was dominant again against the Orioles on Sunday, allowing 1 ER on 5 hits 1 BB in 6.2 IP while striking out 8. This follows a similar performance from Bubic in his season debut when he struck out 8 across 6 shutout innings. He has emerged as a major revelation in Kansas City's rotation, after spending the entire 2024 pitching out of the bullpen. He was elite as a reliever last season; of course that doesn't always translate into success as a starter. But this is clearly not the same pitcher who compiled a 4.85 ERA primarily as a starter from 2020-2023. Bubic currently owns a 15.5% SwStr% across his two starts, and his velocity is higher than in his previous stint as a starter. How many innings he'll be allowed to pitch this season remains a question, but he certainly looks like a mixed-league starter at the moment.
Logan O'Hoppe, C, LAA
O'Hoppe had another big game against the Guardians on Sunday, going 2-4 with his 5th HR of the season. That makes four straight games with a HR for the Angels' catcher, and he seems well on his way to surpassing his career high of 20 HR's that he set last season. O'Hoppe can struggle to make contact - he currently has a 33.3% K% - but when he does, he has made it count with a 56.3% HardHit%. He owns a career FB% of 41.9%, but he's gone to the extreme in that direction in the early going this season, entering Sunday with a 68.8% FB%. His .345 BA is going to come way down, but O'Hoppe has surprisingly made himself a legitimate candidate to be among the leaders in HR's for catchers this season.
Trent Grisham, OF, NYY
Grisham continued his fantastic start to the season going 2-5 with 2 RBI in Sunday's loss to the Pirates. He is now hitting .455 with 3 HR's, 9 RBI, and a 1.447 OPS through 26 PA's this season, while posting an impressive 4:3 K:BB. Grisham opened the season as a bench player for the Yankees, but he has now started 4 straight games and it wouldn't be a surprise if the team continues to play the hot hand. He'll probably cool off eventually but expect him to continue getting regular at bats until that happens.
Christopher Sanchez, SP, PHI
Sanchez struck out 9 in 5.2 IP against the Dodgers on Sunday, allowing 4 ER's on 6 hits and 1 BB. There's nothing special about Sanchez's 4.09 ERA through two starts this season, but that has come with a 2.42 xFIP and 16:3 K:BB across 11 IP. The current strikeout rate would be a huge improvement over last year's 7.58 K/9 and his SwStr% is now over 16% compared to 11.3% in 2024. He still finished last season with an excellent 3.32 ERA and 3.19 xFIP, so imagine what he could do if he is able to maintain his current strikeout rate for the entire season!
Tyler Soderstrom, 1B, ATH
Soderstrom went deep yet again on Sunday as part of a 2-4 effort against the Rockies. He now has 4 HR's through 10 games this season to go with an incredible .359/.405/.718 slash line across 42 PA's. The power doesn't seem to be a fluke either as he has followed up his 48.9% HardHit% from a year ago with a 53.8% mark in the early going this season. He doesn't hit a lot of line drives so the BA is not likely to stick, but at least the power is real.
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