Specner Torkelson, 1B, DET
Torkelson went 1 for 4 with a two-run homer on Tuesday. He has 16 HR on the season to go along with 47 RBI. After a rough 2024 campaign, the 25-year-old has bounced back and is amidst a career year. Tork's 31 HR and 94 RBI in 2023 are nothing to scoff at, but with career-best marks across the board, he's on pace to eclipse his 2023 campaign with relative ease. Unsurprisingly, patience has been at the forefront of his turnaround. Torkelson's career-best 20.4% Chase% ranks in the 88th percentile, leading to a career-best 12.1% BB%. He still strikes out plenty (24.5% K%) and won't hit for average (.237), but he slugs. Torkelson owns a .272 ISO, .509 SLG, and .528 xSLG across 273 plate appearances this season.
Alejandro Kirk, C, TOR
Kirk continued his assault on opposing pitchers on Tuesday in St. Louis, going 3 for 5 with a homer and two RBI. He extended his hitting streak (and RBI streak) to six in the process. Over the past ten games, Kirk is hitting a steamy .475 (19 for 40) with six XBHs (2 HR, 4 2B) and 12 RBI. He has recorded a hit AND an RBI in nine of those ten contests. His .323 average ranks first at the catcher position, while his .353 wOBA ranks fourth. As always, it's a bear market for catchers, and few backstops are producing more than Kirk thus far.
Andrew Abbott, SP, CIN
Abbott tossed a three-hit shutout in Cleveland on Tuesday night. The outing was an ideal bounce back, coming off his worst start of the season (7H, 5ER, 6IP). The southpaw struck out five and walked one while registering the first complete game of his career. Abbott's ERA dropped to 1.87 through 11 starts this season. Despite owning a pedestrian 27.7% Chase% (47th percentile) and 25.4% Whiff% (53rd percentile), Abbott's 27.6% K% remarkably ranks in the 80th percentile. Additionally, his 2025 success can be attributed to avoiding hard contact; his 29.6% HardHit% ranks in the 96th percentile, and his 87.9 Avg Exit Velocity ranks in the 79th. Abbott's 3.94 xFIP isn't great, as the stat doesn't look kindly on his career-best 89.6% LOB% and 7.2% HR/FB%.
ONeill Cruz, OF, PIT
Cruz hit his 13th home run of the season, going 1 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts. The electrifying 26-year-old has been equally polarizing and frustrating this season. He ranks in the 100th percentile in Bat Speed, Hard-Hit%, Barrel%, and Avg Exit Velocity. He has also reigned in his Chase% with a career-best 25.8% mark, which has led to a career-best 15.2% BB% that ranks in the 98th percentile. However, his hefty 34.5% Whiff% ranks in the 4th percentile, and his 33.2% K% ranks in the 2nd. The increased walk rate has saved Cruz's fantasy value, giving him ample opportunities to swipe second; his 23 steals rank second in the majors.
Max Fried, SP, NYY
Fried secured his league-leading 9th win on Tuesday, giving up two runs on six hits while fanning six. Despite lacking the strikeout prowess and pitching his home games at Yankee Stadium, the southpaw has finessed his way to the league lead in wins and ranks 4th in ERA. Fried's four-seamer has been fantastic this season (15.9 wFA), and he's been relying on it much more than he has the past few seasons. His current 42.5% usage rate with the four-seamer is his highest mark since the 2019 season, and he used the pitch just 32.7% of the time in 2024.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for tools that will help you win your fantasy championship. Click here for details: http://www.insiderbaseball.
