Kerry Carpenter (OF-DET) went deep again as he went 1-5 with a 2-run jack against the White Sox on Saturday. The 27 year-old is now off to a solid start to the 2025 campaign as he's now hitting .250 with 3 homers, 8 RBI, and 4 runs scored across 29 PA thanks to the last two games, during which he's hit all 3 dingers. Thanks, in part at least, to Riley Green and a resurgent Spencer Torkelson hitting behind him in the lineup, Carpenter has yet to draw a walk on the young season while fanning at a 24% clip. As usual, he has blistered the baseball a good bit, as his Statcast profile shows a 55.5% hard-hit rate, 22% barrel rate, and average exit velocity of 96.5 mph. Don't expect him to sustain such figures over the course of a full season, but he has a track record of making lots of loud contact as, for instance, he posted a 45% hard-hit rate, 17% barrel rate, and average exit velocity of 90.5 mph in 296 PA last year. With good health (fingers crossed!) THIS is Carpenter's breakout season.
Spencer Torkelson (1B-DET) stayed hot as he went 2-4 with a solo blast and a 2B against the White Sox on Saturday afternoon. We are - as we should be - leary of gaudy spring training numbers, but Torkelson has continued to hit well during the regular season and now owns a .245 average to go with 2 homers, 4 RBI, 6 runs scored, and a steal across his first 36 PA of the new campaign. While his Statcast profile is encouraging (it includes a 43% hard-hit rate and average exit velocity of 91 mph) and his contact rate is up (79%), Torkelson's average rides on a ridiculous .533 BABIP while his strikeout rate is lofty at 33%. The former #1 overall pick could very well be in the process of turning things around in his age-25 season, but strongly consider selling high through a trade if he continues to put up numbers despite some shaky peripherals.
Wyatt Langford (OF-TEX) went 1-3 with a walk and a 2-run blast against the Rays on Saturday. The 23 year-old sophomore is now batting .258 with 3 homers, 5 RBI, 5 runs scored, and a stolen base through his first 36 PA of the season. It's obviously quite early, but Langford has shown growth in key areas so far this season, with his strikeout rate sitting at only 14% while he's drawn some walks (8.5%) and has elevated his contact rate from 79.5% to 82.5%; he's especially improved his zone contact rate, which is up to nearly 92% from 86.5%. Langord has, meanwhile, also improved his Statcast profile, which includes a 48% hard-hit rate, average exit velo of 90.5 mph, and an 8% barrel rate while his average launch angle is up to 22.6 from 16.6 a year ago. He may have not delivered a ROY campaign last season, but he's on track to nice 2025 campaign for his fantasy owners.
Jackson Holliday (SS-BAL) had a nice day at the dish against the Royals on Saturday as he went 3-4 with a 3B and 2 RBI. The 21 year-old has enjoyed a nice start to the 2025 season at the bottom of the Orioles lineup, compiling a .333 average, 1 homer, 4 RBI, 4 runs scored, and 1 steal (in 2 attempts) through his first 31 PA. In that small sample size, Holliday's strikeout rate is down a bit from last season to 26% (was 33%) while his Statcast profile is about the same as last season with a 44.5% hard-hit rate and average exit velocity of 89.5 mph. The good news is that the contact rate is way up from 70% to 79.5% as he's especially done a good job of getting the wood on the ball inside the zone with his z-contact% up to 89.5% from 81%. Encouragingly, he's chasing less often (o-swing% is down to 21% from 26%) while he's hacking at more pitches inside the zone (z-swing% is up to 68% from 63.5%). The early returns are, in short, encouraging.
Matthew Boyd (SP-CHC) blanked the Padres over 6 IP on Saturday afternoon, scattering 5 hits and a walk while recording 5 punchouts. The 34 year-old southpaw threw 56 of his 85 pitches for strikes in the outing. Boyd has enjoyed a nice start to the 2025 season as he's yet to allow a run in his first 11 innings of work while registering a solid 8.2 K/9 against a 3.3 BB/9. His 4.07 xFIP does, however, indicate that a 100% strand rate and 0% HR/FB are suppressing his ERA. While some correction to the mean is inevitable, the good news is that Boyd's average sat at 93-94 mph again on Saturday after it averaged 93 mph in his first outing of the season, up from last year's 92 mph average and his highest as a major leaguer. It's obviously a small sample size, but the velo bump is a positive development as Boyd may be establishing himself as a viable fantasy option. His next start - slated for Friday in LA against the Dodgers - will be a nice litmus test.
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