Juan Soto, OF, New York Mets
Soto had his biggest day of the year going 2-3 with 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, BB on three hard hit balls. Soto is having a down year given his first round draft capital, but there is good reason to believe it's nothing but a slow start. Soto's premium discipline and contact skills haven't gone anywhere. He is still walking more than striking out, making him an animal in points leagues. His EV is 93.4 and his hard-hit rate is right in line with his career average. The issue with Soto is the same issue it has always been: inconsistent launch angles. Soto's unique setup and swing have always given his average LA tremendous variance from year to year. Right now, he is simply on a down swing, hitting the ball in the air at a career low 18.3%. There is no reason to believe Soto has regressed, buy low.
Salvador Perez, C, Kansas City Royals
Salvy went 1-3 with RBI on two hard hit balls. While the .237/.280/.381 slash line is not what you thought you were drafting, the days of Perez as a reliable slugger aren't gone yet. Salvy's bat speed still checks in at 64th Percentile, and he's running a second-best in his career .491 xwOBACON. His 48.4% hard hit rate is a peak in the last three years, and his 28.6 Pull Air % is a career high. Buy low.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
Vlad Jr. went 1-4 with HR, 3 RBI, 2 K on one hard hit ball. Vlad's 2025 is resembling his 2023, and his 2024, which might be a frustration for certain managers. That being said, his underlying figures are still plenty strong. His .314 xBA is quite a ways ahead of his current .367 line. I'm sure his 95th Percentile bat speed and 14.4% barrel rate will allow those numbers to converge sometime soon. Hold.
Spencer Steer, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
Steer went 2-3 with a solo homer and 1 BB on one hard hit ball. Steer posted near identical 2023 and 2024's, hitting 43 homers and stealing 40 bases in that span, making him a very playable fantasy asset. It's no question that he's off to a slow start so far, and hopefully today puts him in the right direction. Steer's underlying figures are pretty pedestrian right now. He's running a career low 20.3% flyball rate and career low 31.9% hard hit rate. Luckily the Pull Air % is still above league average, sitting at 18.8%, but it's still 4.2% down from last year. Steer has historically been a modest "slugger", with a career xwOBACON right at big league average. He relies on a "lite" version of the Isaac Paredes approach to get to homers and pure speed to get to stolen bases. Those traits are slightly lacking right now, which make for a tough value proposition if he can't get to those counting stats. Hold, don't drop him, but he's not a must start right now.
Another hitter I like...
Jordan Beck, OF, Colorado Rockies
Beck continued his strong 2025 campaign by going 1-4 with a solo homerun. His quality of contact is nothing short of excellent. His .562 xwOBACON is off the charts, and he's barreling 20.6% of balls. The small sample size plus Coors Field effect require that I provide the obligatory statements that these rates are inflated, and will certainly come down. And while that is true to an extent, Beck has a strong history of stealing bases and hitting homeruns in the minors, plus he's batting second in the lineup. I think he can keep up in the counting stat categories.
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