Dylan Crews (OF-WSH) enjoyed what was easily his best game of the young 2025 season as he went 3-5 with a pair of 2-run blasts and a 2B against the Rockies on Saturday. The 23 year-old had REALLY struggled out of the gate this year, as he was hitting just .140 with no homers, 7 runs scored, 0 RBI, and 4 steals (in 5 attempts) through his first 60 PA. His strikeout rate is high at 27.5% while he's not drawing many walks (4.5%) and his quality of contact was not great entering Saturday's action, as Statcast showed a 31% hard-hit rate, 7.5% barrel rate, and average exit velo of 89 mph. Encouragingly, his strikeout rate isn't terrible at 10.5% while his overall contact rate is only down a bit (to 75% from 77.5%) while his in-zone contact rate is actually up a touch so far this year (from 87.5% to 88%). Perhaps his outburst on Saturday afternoon will be a turning point for his season.
James Wood (OF-WSH) put together a productive day at the dish out of the leadoff spot against Colorado on Saturday as he went 3-5 with a homer and 4 RBI. The 22 year-old sophomore is now batting .253 with 7 dingers, 17 RBI, 13 runs scored, and 3 steals (albeit in 5 attempts) across his first 87 PA of the season. Wood is fanning at a 27.5% clip, but he's also drawing walks at a healthy 12.5% rate while blistering the baseball when he gets the bat on it as Statcast shows a 58.5% hard-hit rate, 21.5% barrel rate, and average exit velocity of 94 mph so far this year. His average launch angle of just 3.1 is, however, concerning, as that has generated a 61% groundball rate while he's ripped just 4.5% liners while lofting flyballs at a 35% clip. Although the strikeout rate isn't good, it's encouraging to see Wood's swinging-strike rate at 9.5% (was 10.5% last year) while his contact rate is up to 75% (from 72.5%) and his in-zone contact rate is up from 82.5% to 86.5%.
Spencer Torkelson (1B-DET) powered the Tigers to victory on Saturday afternoon as he went 1-3 with a 3-run blast and a walk. Well, the 25 year-old just keeps hitting as he's now batting .289 with 7 dingers, 21 RBI, 17 runs scored, and a stolen base through his first 92 PA of the season. Tork's strikeout rate is high at 29.5%, but he's drawing walks (13%) while registering a lot of hard contact with Statcast showing a 49% hard-hit rate, 17.5% barrel rate, and average exit velocity of 92.5 mph. Encouragingly, his swinging-strike rate isn't bad at 10.5% while his contact rate (76.5%) is up a bit from last season. Overall, his advanced metrics are quite similar to what they were in 2023 when he hit .233 with 31 bombs, so a final season line in that neighborhood is quite possible as that he has pop but is highly unlikely to sustain a .341 BABIP.
MacKenzie Gore (SP-WSH) earned the W against the Rockies (at Coors!) on Saturday afternoon as he allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while piling up 13 punchouts over 6 IP. The 26 year-old southpaw fired 67 of his 104 pitches for strikes while surrendering a homer in the contest. Gore seems to be taking another step forward in 2025 as he now boasts a 3.41 ERA, 14 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 2.31 xFIP through his first 29 IP of the year. Gore's control is much improved and while his swinging-strike rate is up only slightly from 12.5% in 2024 to 13% so far this season, the opposition's contact rate is down from 75% to 72.5% while their in-zone rate in particular is down, to 81% from 84.5%. The Statcast profile is a bit concerning, though, as it shows a 44.5% hard-hit rate, 12.5% barrel rate, and average exit velo of 90 mph even. His next scheduled start - against the Orioles at home on Thursday - should be a nice litmus test.
Casey Mize (SP-DET) continued his strong start to the 2025 campaign as he defeated the Royals on Saturday to pick up his third win. The 27 year-old righty allowed just 1 run (on a solo homer) on 4 hits and 1 walk while fanning 3 over 7 IP on 88 pitches (63 strikes). Mize now owns a 2.22 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, and 4.32 xFIP through his first 24.1 IP of the year. The gap between the ERA and xFIP points to a .194 BABIP and 90.5% strand rate suppressing the former while his BB/9 is merely average and his K/9 is subpar. Curiously, Mize's swinging-strike rate is a career-best 11.5% while the opposition's 75% contact rate and 81.5% in-zone contact rates are both career lows. Still, that huge gap between the ERA and xFIP is concerning as is the lack of strikeouts. It will be interesting to see how he fares against the Orioles at home next weekend.
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