Drake Baldwin (C-ATL) was the lone bright spot offensively for Atlanta on Monday against the Marlins as he went 1-3 with a walk and a solo blast to score the team's only run of the game. The 24 year-old rookie batted 6th in this one as his recent slump has slid him out of the top of the lineup. In his last 7 games before this contest, Baldwin was hitting just .167 with no homers, 6 RBI, and 4 runs scored over 31 PA, although he wasn't fanning often (9.5%). During that span, quality of contact was fine with a 44.5% hard-hit rate and average exit velocity of 91.5 mph, but the problem was an average launch angle of only 1.5, which generated a 63% groundball rate, with 92.5% of his batted balls going up the middle or to the pull side. On the year, Baldwin's average launch angle sits at only 6.3, which is really the main knock on his game at the dish. After all, he makes lots of contact (16.5% strikeout rate) and lots of it is loud (48.5% hard-hit rate, 10.5% barrel rate, and average exit velo of 91.5 mph per Statcast).
Ben Rice (C/1B-NYY) went 1-3 with a solo homer, 2 BB, and an additional run scored as he batted 2nd against the Nationals on Monday. The 26 year-old is now batting .241 with 21 big flies, 48 RBI, 57 runs scored, and an 11% walk rate against an acceptable 19.5% strikeout rate through his first 423 PA of the 2025 campaign. One has to like his combination of contact ability (79% overall, 88.5% in zone) and pop (55% hard-hit rate, 16.5% barrel rate, and average exit velo of 93.5 mph with an average launch angle of 14.1). After slowing down a bit following a hot start to the campaign, Rice entered Monday's game hitting .310 with 4 homers, 10 RBI, and 6 runs scored in 50 PA since August 11th. During that span, he has blistered the baseball, posting a 64.5% hard-hit rate, 23.5% barrel rate, and average exit velocity of 97.5 mph. Looks like Rice should be a nice fantasy contributor down the stretch and is primed to be a top-10 fantasy backstop (at least) in 2026.
Mark Vientos (3B-NYM) went 2-3 with a pair of 2B, 2 RBI, and a run scored against the Phillies on Monday. The 25 year-old has disappointed overall in 2025, but he's picked things up as of late as he was batting .357 with 5 homers, 11 RBI, and 6 runs scored over his last 31 PA entering Monday's contest. During that span, his strikeout rate was just 16% while his Statcast profile boasted an incredible 71% hard-hit rate, 33.5% barrel rate, and average exit velocity of 96.5 mph. While most of 2025 has been a lost season for Vientos, he may very well be recapturing some of the form he showed a season ago when he batted .266 with 27 dingers, 71 RBI, and 58 runs scored over 454 PA. Encouragingly in 2025, Vientos has logged a 23% strikeout rate after fanning at a 29.5% clip in 2024 while his in-zone contact rate is up (from 78% to 80.5%) and he's continued to make lots of loud contact (Statcast shows a 50.5% hard-hit rate, 10.5% barrel rate, and average exit velocity of 91.5 mph). Add him if he's still sitting on the waiver wire in your fantasy league.
Jarren Duran (OF-BOS) went 1-3 with a 3-run jack and a walk against the Orioles on Monday. The 28 year-old has underwhelmed a bit in 2025 following his breakout a season ago (.285 average, 21 dingers, 75 RBI, 111 runs scored, and 34 steals over 735 PA, with a 131 wRC+). Through his first 577 PA of the current campaign, Duran is hitting .258 with 13 long balls, 73 RBI, 73 runs scored, and 21 steals, with a 112 wRC+. His strikeouts are up slightly to 23.5% (from 22%) as his swinging-strike rate is up to 12% from 10.5% and his in-zone contact rate is down a touch from 87.5% to 87%. Interestingly, his Statcast profile is better all around in 2025, with his hard-hit rate up to 47.5% (was 43.5%), his barrel rate is up to 11% from 10%, and his average exit velo is up a full tick to 92 mph. Moreover, his average launch angle is up to 11.9 after coming in at 9.5 in 2024. It does seem to be luck more than anything else at play here, as Duran's HR/FB is down to 8.5% from 11.5% and his BABIP is down a bit from .345 to .326 despite the improved quality of contact. There's still more than a month of regular season ball left, but he's already looking like a buy-low candidate for 2026.
Edward Cabrera (SP-MIA) was electric against the Braves on Monday as he tossed 7 shutout IP in which he allowed just 1 hit and walked 2 while racking up 10 punchouts on 100 pitches (63 strikes). The 27 year-old righty has finally taken a step forward in his MLB career as he owns a 3.32 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 3 BB/9, and 3.52 xFIP over 124.2 IP. The biggest improvement has been in the control department, as Cabrera's BB/9 is easily a career low (previous was 4.1 in 2022). Although his K/9 is down a touch from the past, his 12.5% swinging-strike rate is par for the course, as is his 86% in-zone contact rate. Meanwhile, he's also registered a career-low 10.5% HR/FB and 0.87 HR/9. He'll face a test in New York against the Mets on Saturday, but he's been so good that fantasy owners should run him out there.
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