Luke Keaschall, 2B, Minnesota Twins
Keaschall returned from the IL with a bang, going 2-4 with R, HR, 3 RBI on three hard hit balls. You're seriously not ready for how good Luke Keaschall is. I'm all in. In 2024, Keaschall was the only affiliated minor leaguer with at least 100 at bats to strike out less than 18% of the time, walk greater than 10% of the time, have a swinging strike rate below 8%, all while still pulling the ball 50% of the time and hitting grounders less than 35% of the time. Oh, and he already has 5 stolen bases in 8 big league games. Buy, and go into debt if you have to.
Mackenzie Gore, SP, Washington Nationals
Gore had another night to forget, going 3 IP, 12 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, and 2 HR. He allowed 11 hard hit balls and posted a putrid 18% CSW. Gore has now allowed 6 ER or more in three of his last four starts. His underlying stats were solid, prior to this stretch, but even on a season basis they have officially shifted to concerning. Gore's 17.4 LA and 37.6 LA Sweet Spot are well above big league average. The 41.4% Hard Hit rate and .396 xwOBACON suggest that the red flag is legitimate. The good news is that Gore does get whiffs at 83rd Percentile, which help prop up his strong 28.7 K%. However, he only has ten punchouts in last four starts, spanning 15.2 IP. The lack of punchouts, plus the quality of contact, is a huge red flag. Not only has the execution regressed, but it's likely the stuff has too. You can bench him until he starts punching out guys again. I wonder if there is an injury here, too.
Nathan Eovaldi, SP, Texas Rangers
I'm not quite sure why Eovaldi isn't near the top of Cy Young voting when he keeps doing stuff like this. It's probably because he is ten innings outside of being a "qualified" starter. He went 8 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. He danced around 9 hard hit balls and posted a 30% CSW. Eovaldi's 5.1% BB rate and 26.5% K rate are a great foundation. Throw in the fact that he is a ground ball machine, getting 51% of balls in play on the ground, and you have a pretty well rounded arm. His 1.47 ERA on the season, while impressive, is a touch undeserved. His .371 xwOBACON against is league average, so his 3.26 xERA is more telling of the type of pitcher he is. FIP (2.43) loves that he doesn't give up homers, and xFIP (2.90) suggests that there is only slight homerun luck. His 85.6 LOB% and .257 BABIP suggest that there is significant ball in play luck, but Eovaldi is still excellent nonetheless, and deserves set-and-forget status.
Oneil Cruz, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates
Cruz went 0-4 with a punchout, and has been really cold in general this summer. He slashed .234/.282/.403 in July, making him near unplayable in points leagues. The raw power and bat speed are well documented and well known, unless you live under a rock, so I'll skip that. I'm really worried about his career taking a Luis Robert trajectory where its just tools, but no real performance. The homers and stolen bases are nice, but Cruz cannot get away with striking out at 31%. The zone swing and zone contact rates are too low. Be careful.
Kody Clemens, 1B, Minnesota Twins
Clemens went 3-4 with R, 2 2B, RBI, 2 K on two hard hit balls. Clemens doesn't play every day due to being utterly incapable against lefties, but if you're down for the effort and don't play in a weekly lineup league, this is your guy. Clemens has a career 22.2% Pull Air rate, and his rate for 2025 is right on that mark. His .431 xwOBACON and 52.7% HH rate are no joke. He even has value in points leagues, where his 22/8 K/BB rate is very manageable. If you have the flexibility to play him, he is a great option.
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