Cal Raleigh (C-SEA) went deep again as he went 1-5 with a solo shot, a walk, and a stolen base against the Reds on Thursday. The 28 year-old slugger is now batting only .216 through his first 84 PA of the season, but has mashed 8 homers while driving in 11 runs and swiping 3 bags. Raleigh's strikeout rate is actually down to 26% (28% last season, 28.5% career) while he's still walking a good bit (10.5%), although his in-zone contact rate has suffered slightly (down to 80% from 81.5%). Unsurprisingly, his Statcast profile features the best figures of his career (albeit in a small sample size) with a 51% hard-hit rate, 24.5% barrel rate, and average exit velocity of 93 mph. A REALLY low .182 BABIP seems likely to come up, and his average with it, so Raleigh could be in for a career year should his strikeout remain even down a little bit while he continues to hit for nice pop.
Corbin Carroll (OF-ARI) went 1-5 with 3 stolen bases, an RBI, and 2 runs scored against Cincinnati on Thursday. The 24 year-old is now batting .321 with 6 dingers, 17 RBI, 18 runs scored, and 4 steals (in 4 tries) through his first 88 PA of the new campaign. His strikeout rate is up (24%) and his walks are down (8%), but his Statcast profile is much improved with a 60% hard-hit rate, 20% barrel rate, and average exit velo north of 95 mph while his launch angle is also up, to 15. Carroll is simply being more aggressive at the dish as his swing rate is up to 52.5% so far this year after it was 41% a year ago as he's chasing more (his o-swing% is up to 37.5% from just 25%) but also offering at more pitches inside the zone (z-swing% is up to 65% from 58.3%). His batting average will most certainly dip down the stretch as a 14% swinging-strike rate is nearly double what it was a season ago while his contact rate is down from 81.5% to just 73% and his in-zone contact rate has dipped from 89% to 84%. The average therefore rides on a .367 BABIP, which isn't otherworldly given his wheels. But the altered approach is producing results in the power department.
Cristopher Sanchez (SP-PHI) earned the W against the Giants on Thursday with 7 IP in which he allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits and 1 walk while recording a career-high 12 strikeouts. The 28 year-old lefty threw 69 of his 97 offerings for strikes while serving up a big fly. He now owns a 2.96 ERA, 11.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 2.45 xFIP through his first 24.1 IP of the year. After his average sinker velocity sat at 94.5 mph a season ago, it's been at 96 so far this year while his slider and change are also up about a tick and a half. Sanchez's swinging-strike rate now sits at 13% - up from 11.5% the last two seasons - while the opposition's contact rate is down to 73.5% (from 78% last year) and their zone contact rate has dipped to 82% from 86%. He's induced grounders at a solid 51.5% clip while the opposition has mustered just a 2% barrel rate against him. Overall, Sanchez appears to be taking a big step forward and is now a solid #2 SP for fantasy. Can he push into #1 range? He's slated for a bit of a litmus test next week when he heads to face Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos, and company in New York.
Eduardo Rodriguez (SP-ARI) put together another uneven outing against the Marlins on Thursday as he allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 10 hits and no walks while racking up 9 punchouts over 5.1 IP. The 32 year-old southpaw kept the ball in the yard as he tossed 66 of his 93 offerings for strikes in the outing. It's been a weird - for lack of a better term - start to the season for Rodriguez, who now owns a 4.09 ERA, 11.9 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 2.36 xFIP through 22 IP. The strikeout and walk figures are great, and the gap between the ERA and xFIP suggests that he's been unlucky, which a 62.5% strand rate and .373 BABIP seem to bear out. But his swinging-strike rate is super meh at just 9%. On the other hand, the opposition hasn't made a ton of hard contact against him as Statcast shows a 33.5% hard-hit rate, 7% barrel rate, and average exit velo of 87 mph. He's slated for a turn against the Rays at home next week and I can see starting him there. After all, the figures indicate that he's been better than his ERA might suggest.
Nick Kurtz (1B-OAK) is knocking on the door of the majors despite being drafted in 2024 (at #4 overall). The 22 year-old out of Wake Forest is blistering the ball with Triple-A Las Vegas as he was hitting .348 with 7 dingers, 22 RBI, and 16 runs scored across his first 77 PA of the campaign (entering Thursday's action). Gifted with excellent raw power and a plus potential hit tool, Kurtz has the talent to become a top-10 1B in fantasy. He's fanning a bit (23.5%) and not taking a ton of walks (8%), but he fanned at a 20% clip in A and Double-A ball last season while drawing more walks (24%); it's worth noting that the sample was just 50 PA. In Triple-A this year, Kurtz is making a lot of loud contact (60.5% hard-hit rate and average exit velo of 95.5 mph per Statcast), although his contact profile isn't amazing with a 72% overall contact rate, 84% in-zone contact rate, and 11.5% swinging-strike rate. But this is a 22 year-old in Triple-A with barely over 100 professional PA. There is tremendous potential here and he should get the call to the majors sometime this summer. Stash him now.
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