Ahmed Rosario, SS/2B/OF, TB
Rosario extended his hitting streak to ten games on Thursday afternoon. He went 2 for 4 with a triple and an RBI. The 28-year-old also has five multi-hit games over the past six contests and is now hitting a robust .339 for the season. Rosario has always been a decent contact hitter but has taken it to another level so far in 2024. He has been seeing the ball extremely well as he is attacking the ball in the strike zone like never before. Rosario's career Z-Swing% is 68.9% but it's at 83.2% so far this season, which ranks third in the majors. He isn't just swinging because they are strikes either, he is swinging with a purpose. His 48.0% HardHit% (career 37.8%) and 10.0% Barrel% (career 3.7%) are both career bests by a wide margin. Rosario will probably come back to earth a bit in due time, but with his multi-position availability, he deserves to be utilized right now despite his lack of power.
Jack Leiter, SP, TEX
Leiter took a beating in his major league debut on Thursday. He gave up seven earned runs on eight hits and three walks. Leiter generated 10 whiffs in the outing and fanned three. The Rangers' prospect displayed strikeout stuff in triple-A this season with a 15.70 K/9 in his 14.1 innings. However, with a hefty 2.51 HR/9, he also gave up a lot of home runs. The 23-year-old didn't get tagged for any long balls in his debut but was hit hard. The Tigers' average exit velo on Leiter's primary pitch (4-Seamer) was a hefty 99.2 mph on the day. With the multitude of injuries to the Rangers' starting staff, he should get another crack in the bigs before getting sent down, but he will have to show promise if he is going to stay with the big club for an extended period.
Miguel Sano, DH, LAA
Sano went 1 for 2 with a walk and an RBI on Thursday afternoon in Tampa. The 30-year-old continues to work his way back to relevancy with his new team in LA. His current .282/.383/.333 triple-slash line so far this season suggests he is making strides to that end. Coming into Thursday's games, Sano's 98.7 average exit velo led the league and his 63.6% HardHit% ranked 3rd (min 25 PAs). Yet, for all that mashing, the big righty hasn't hit a home run and has just two doubles in his 47 plate appearances. Sano is hitting line drives aplenty (36.4% LD%), but with a 22.7% FB%, he isn't getting up and out of the park. With a 34.0% K%, he is still a major strikeout liability, but with his patience and impressive hard contact rates so far, he is an interesting player to monitor as the season continues.
Riley Greene, OF, DET
Greene went 2 for 4 with a triple and a double on Thursday afternoon. He also walked, scored twice, and drove in a run in the contest. The 23-year-old has impressively improved his plate discipline in his third year of action. He is walking at a 19.3% clip (career 9.4% BB%) which ranks only behind Juan Soto this season. The patience is nice, but it hasn't translated to an improved K% or average for Greene thus far. His 26.3% K% is right around his career mark while his .239 average is well below his career .267 mark. Greene is getting barrels (14.3%) but his 35.7% HardHit% and 16.7% LD% have declined. With this, he hasn't been the most productive fantasy player this season but his impressive .375 wOBA and 147 wRC+ show that he is making strides as an overall hitter.
Emmanuel Clase, RP, CLE
Clase nailed down his fifth save of the season, protecting the Guardians' one-run lead in Boston on Thursday afternoon. He has given up two runs (one earned) across 9.0 innings this season and converted five of his seven save opportunities. Clase continues to be a top-end closer despite his underwhelming strikeout numbers (7.0 K/9). He doesn't walk anyone (literally 0 BB this season) because he gets batters to expand the strike zone with a hefty 38.2% Chase rate (97th percentile). Clase's 3.22 ERA and 3.04 xFIP weren't as tidy in 2023 as they were in previous seasons (1.33/2.38 in '21-'22), but he has stabilized so far this season (1.00/2.59).
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