Hunter Greene (P - CIN) - It's only three starts, but it certainly looks like Hunter Greene has taken a step forward this year. The control appears to be significantly improved, with a zone% up almost 15% from last season, and there's been a bit of a velo bump as well. Sore, there are a ton of flyballs, but if he is going to be walking half as many guys as before, we're in for a treat. He couldn't quite finish off the complete-game shutout on Monday in San Francisco, going 8 2/3 and then allowing a single and a walk (his only one of the contest) before yielding to Tony Santillan to get the final out. Don't worry about the "mere" 7 K's, as he did get 19 swinging strikes in 104 pitches while finally picking up his first win of the year after three excellent outings. He's been as impressive as anyone in the early going.
Ben Rice (1B - NYY) - Rice tripled and walked twice on Monday against Detroit, and he's now hitting 333/471/704 through the first 9 games of the year. Sure, it's a hot start, but there are a few things here worth paying attention to. The first is the lineup spot: hitting leadoff against RHP for the Yankees is a big boost to anyone's value, and the fact that Rice has already swiped a couple of bags should illustrate that he has more speed than you're expecting from a former catcher. He could easily lead 1B in SBs this year. The second thing is the manner of his production. Sure, the 72% hard hit rate is absurd, but Rice showed fantastic plate discipline, above average contact ability, and above average exit velocity both last year as a rookie and during his minor league tenure. We shouldn't be surprised that this is simply part of his skill set. He's an inspired choice as a leadoff hitter, and I think that there's a reasonable chance that Rice is that rarest of rare things: an underrated Yankee prospect. Yes, he was old for the levels, but in 2023-24 he hit 44 HRs and stole 21 bases in 152 games in the minors with an OBP around .415. This kid can play, and he's definitely worth a pickup in all formats hitting atop a premium lineup.
Mackenzie Gore (P - WAS) - Gore was great again on Monday, this time holding the mighty Dodgers to 2 runs on 5 hits over 6 innings, walking 1 and fanning 7. He generated 15 swinging strikes on 100 pitches, and as that zone% continues to climb, I'm thinking that maybe some actual control improvement has occurred. If that's the case, it's the biggest thing that has been preventing Gore from taking the next step to a consistent top-flight SP. Sure, the GB rate is still rather low, but without the same amount of free passes the impact will be mitigated. The ceiling here is excellent, as we've seen just in the first 3 starts of 2025. He gets the Marlins in Miami for the back end of his 2-start week, so expectations will be high. Be careful on claims though, because next week's lone start is in Colorado, which isn't the best mix for a flyball pitcher with a couple of solid breaking pitches.
Matt Wallner (OF - MIN) - I'm enjoying this trend of "non-traditional" leadoff hitters that seems to be gaining some momentum. Wallner is a patient, power bat with below average speed that the Twins have been leading off against RHP so far this year. He singled, doubled, and walked on Monday to bring his line up to 303/410/485 through 10 games, and while he is still likely to be platooned against LHP, there's enough OBP and pop here to justify a claim in formats where you can pick and choose when to play him (deep reserves, daily lineups, etc.). He's been much more aggressive this year so far, which is in keeping with the number of strikes that he's seeing above normal (zone% up 8.7, swing% up 8.5). He will swing and miss, but the combination of the lineup position and power have me interested in Wallner in most formats.
Zac Gallen (P - ARI) - I have some mild concern over Gallen, who now has two stinkers sandwiched around a brilliant outing in NY last week. Gallen couldn't get through the 5th on Monday against Baltimore, allowing 7 hits and 5 runs, walking 4 and only fanning 2. His control regressed last season by quite a bit, and thus far in 2025 it looks like more of the same. He can still miss bats, but the EV allowed is up for a few years now when hitters do make contact, and the extra runners on from the poorer control are certainly an issue. There's still plenty of stuff here if he can get the control straightened out, but things are trending in the wrong direction over the past few seasons to be sure. First the quality of contact in '23, then the control last season, and aside from the start in NY where he clearly had the command of the knuckle curve, the same issues have cropped up twice already this year. I'll be watching his start Sunday closely.
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