Kyle Schwarber, OF/DH, PHI
Schwarber went 3 for 3 with a solo homer and a pair of walks, extending his modest hitting streak to four games. With 12 singles and three home runs, the 31-year-old hasn't been his normal boom-or-bust self so far this season. Schwarber's .259 average is well above his career .226 mark while his .155 ISO is well below his career .262 mark. He has simply not been getting the ball in the air which has sapped his power and created more singles. His current 35.1% FB% (44.0% career) is the lowest of his career. The good news is that Schwarbs is still taking his walks (13.4% BB%) and hitting that ball extremely hard. His 59.5% HardHit% ranks 4th in the league (entering play Saturday).
Spencer Steer, OF, CIN
Steer went 1 for 3 with three RBI on Saturday in Chicago. He hit a two-out bases-clearing double with the bags juiced in the top of the second inning. He also struck out twice and was hit by a pitch in the contest. With 23 homers and a .271/.356/.464 triple-slash line in 2023, Steer was impressive in his first full season of big league action but he has upped his game so far in 2024. The 26-year-old is slashing .367/.483/.714 with three home runs and his 18 RBI are tied for the league lead. Steer's patience and bat control have been fantastic so far this season. His tiny 5.8% SwStr% and hefty 93.4% Z-Contact% (percentages before Saturday's game) have led to an impressive 13.3% BB% and 15.0% K%. Steer's current .405 BABIP is unsustainable but he has been seeing the ball well and pulverizing it (53.8% HardHit%). Regression should be expected but it appears that the youngster can flat out hit. He has recorded at least two hits or an extra-base hit in 11 of his 14 games so far this season.
Logan Webb, SP, SF
Webb gave up one run on six hits across 7.0 innings of work en route to his first win on Saturday against the Rays. He struck out four and walked one in the contest. Webb has been hit well so far this season. He has given up 28 hits across his four starts but has only given up one long ball which has helped keep his ERA (3.80) respectable and xFIP solid (3.47). Webb's 16.1% Whiff% ranks in the 6th percentile while his .345 xBA ranks in the 4th. He isn't a big strikeout guy (6.46 K/9) so he relies on groundballs and soft contact to be effective. Before Saturday's outing, Webb had struggled in this regard. His 44.6% GB% was a career-low while his 33.9% LD% was the second highest in the league. He did produce a 66.7% Groundball rate on Saturday and the average exit velocity on his two-seamer was 78.8 mph. Although you didn't pick Webb for his strikeout acumen, he is going to have to pick up his current 6.8% SwStr% and get his K-rate up near his career 8.24 K/9 if he is going to be effective.
Nick Lodolo, SP, CIN
In his first major league action since last May, Lodolo fanned 10 and surrendered one hit across 5.2 innings of work. The southpaw took a no-hitter into the 6th inning that was spoiled by a Robbie Grossman single. Lodolo is coming back from a fractured Tibia that cost him most of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. Things couldn't have started much better for the 26-year-old. He sat down 17 of the 21 batters he faced and generated 16 whiffs for a 40% whiff rate. Lodolo did hit two batters and walked one, but he was otherwise flawless. It was a stellar start, although it should be noted that it came against one of the worst offenses in baseball. The White Sox have hit the least amount of home runs and currently own the second-worst wRC+ in all of baseball.
Salvador Perez, C, KC
Sal stayed hot on Saturday, going 2 for 5 with a homer and four RBI. The 33-year-old backstop is still getting it done at the dish in his 13th major league season. He is now riding a five-game hitting streak and hitting .333 with 4 HR and 15 RBI on the season. Perez's 54.3% O-Swing% is well above his 45.4% career mark but he is smashing pitches inside the zone. His 92.0% Z-Contact% is his best since the 2014 campaign and his 15.9% Barrel% is the second highest of his career. You should expect Perez's average to take a significant dip before too long. He is a career .267 hitter and his current .356 BABIP is well above his career .289 mark.
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