Juan Soto, OF (NYM)
Soto smacked a pair of home runs on Wednesday and also added a 110 mile-per-hour lineout to straightaway center. It's another example of Soto tearing the cover off the ball in his first year with the Mets, even if the surface stats don't support that. He is only hitting .261 with seven home runs, but Soto has an expected batting average over .300 along with the best contact rates of his career. One factor limiting Soto's power output is a 52.3% groundball rate. Expect things to normalize as the warmer months approach and Soto is poised for another monster season, this time in Queens.
Lawrence Butler, OF (ATH)
The Athletics dropped Butler to the bottom half of the lineup for the second time this season. He hit sixth on Wednesday and delivered with a home run and a walk. It was his sixth dinger of the year to go along with six stolen bases. Even though the young outfielder hasn't quite delivered the breakout many fantasy owners hoped for, the skillset is still buzzing with potential. He flashes intriguing power with a 92-mph average exit velocity and 10.6% barrel rate. He still strikes out a bit more than most would prefer, but he is refining the strike zone, chasing outside the zone less and being more aggressive on pitches inside the zone. It appears Butler is still trying to figure out what type of hitter he is. He has the power to put up a lot of home runs and his elevated 48% flyball rate seems to imply he's leaning into that approach, but he has a fairly low pull rate for a power hitter so the home runs aren't quite there. Too many fly balls hit to the biggest part of the field means a lot of flyouts. Butler is still a very young player with so much potential and the breakout is still a very real possibility.
Leody Taveras, OF (SEA)
Taveras got his first start for the Mariners after being claimed off waivers from the Rangers earlier in the week. The speedy outfielder played right field and stole his seventh base of the season. He scored once and drove in one run but also struck out twice in four plate appearances. Taveras' skillset has always been enticing in standard roto leagues because he hits the ball relatively hard and has very good speed on the basepaths. Unfortunately he has struggled with consistency and really regressed in batting EYE (2 BB to 23 K) prior to the Rangers letting him go. He will have an opportunity to play fairly regularly for the Mariners, particularly while Luke Raley and Victor Robles are on the injured list. Robles excelled after latching on with the Mariners in 2024 and the M's hope Taveras can pave a similar path in 2025.
Christian Yelich, OF (MIL)
Yelich's struggles continued on Wednesday with his sixth hitless game in his past eight starts. He is now hitting below the Mendoza Line, although he does have six home runs and seven stolen bases. Perhaps the biggest concern is Yelich's struggles against fastballs. After hitting .323 with a 15% whiff rate against heaters in 2024, Yelich is hitting only .194 with a 27% whiff rate in 2025. Only two of his six homers have come off fastballs. Strikeouts are the biggest issue for the veteran slugger, including his lowest contact rate since 2020. It could be a sign of age regression, sign of an injury or perhaps a sign of nothing and just a small sample size.
Gabriel Arias, 2B (CLE)
Arias boosted his batting average on Wednesday with the first four-hit game of his career. The versatile infielder tallied three singles and a double in the Guardians' 8-6 win at Washington. He is now hitting .287 with four home runs and two stolen bases. More importantly, he has solidified himself as an everyday player in a somewhat thin Cleveland offense. He has appeared at three infield positions, primarily at second base, but is filling in as well at shortstop and can even spell Jose Ramirez at the hot corner. An 11.3% barrel rate with a moderate display of power is elevating Arias' production, but there are screaming signs of pending regression due to continued struggles with plate discipline. Arias' contact rate is hovering around 60% and his swinging-strike rate is an unbearable 22.4 percent. It's just not sustainable so if you're taking advantage of a nice little stretch from the 25-year-old, it's a good time to look to jettison him.
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