Geraldo Perdomo (SS - ARI) - Perdomo extended his hitting streak to 10 (and his on-base streak to 14) with his 13th HR on Wednesday, and he kicked in a pair of walks and his 19th SB to go along with 3 R and an RBI. By any stretch, this season has been a brilliant surprise for Perdomo, who at age 25 has shown elite contact ability, very good plate discipline, good speed, and something perhaps nosing up toward below average power. He's hitting leadoff for the D-Backs now and looks like a lock for at least 80 R and 85 RBI, and he should reach 15 HR and 20-25 SB with an AVG above .280 and OBP above .380. He's walking more than he's striking out, which is something that only 3 other regulars (Arraez, McNeil, and Tucker) can say so far this season. I've been tremendously impressed, and so what if this is the peak of his power in the 12-15 HR range? Cheap power is easy to find, but most of the remainder of Perdomo's skill set isn't. Plus, with Suarez dealt and an extension signed through 2029, it feels like Arizona has fully committed to Perdomo and his improvement. I'll be very curious to see where his value lands in 2026, because although I am a believer in the strides that he's made, I don't envision the type of power potential that would send him flying up the SS board.
Isaac Collins (OF - MIL) - Collins has been scorching since the beginning of June, posting OBPs of .411 in both June and July before clocking in at .468 so far in August. He's had quite a bit of favorable press over the past month or so, but while I do think that he should be owned across the board (and that he is a very good player in OBP-based formats), I think that the hype has surpassed the quality of the player a bit. Aside from plate discipline, at which he is elite, he isn't much above average at anything despite appearances to the contrary. He has roughly average speed (27.6 ft/sec sprint speed), average-minus power (88.6 average EV), and plus contact ability (9.5% SS). The Statcast expected data has him at 259/372 for AVG and SLG, a fair bit below the 297/458 that he's posting currently. He is a very good "real" baseball player, getting on base at an excellent clip and playing an excellent OF with very good baserunning skills. From a fantasy perspective, I think that he's quickly become a bit overvalued, although once again, in OBP-based formats he is worth every penny.
Trevor Rogers (SP - BAL) - Rogers offered up his 7th straight QS on Wednesday, holding the Mariners to 1 run on 4 hits over 7 innings, striking out 6 without walking a man. He managed a 41% chase rate and 16% swinging strike rate in the outing, but the takeaway for me during this excellent stretch is the massive improvement in control. He's shut down the Cubs, Phillies, and Mariners in his last 3 starts, all of whom are above average offenses (and in the case of the first two, top-10 offenses). Yes, there have been some tailwinds here via BABIP and HR/FB, but all of the advanced ERA metrics show a pitcher performing substantially better than average (3.25 xERA, 3.65 xFIP, 3.77 SIERA). He's missing bats at an above average clip despite the lower than average K rate, the GB rate is solid, and the aforementioned control improvement is carrying a lot of the performance load here. Two more stern tests are on tap next week, as the Red Sox and Astros are tied for 2nd in MLB in OPS vs. LHP. I'm likely still riding with Rogers though, as that changeup has been a very effective weapon against the typical lefty-mashing lineups to this point.
Jakob Marsee (OF - MIA) - After hitting in 9 of his first 10 games as a Marlin, Jakob Marsee took a couple of 0-fers on Sunday and Tuesday, causing many of us to think that the honeymoon period was over. Boy, were we wrong. The 24 year old had a monster game on Wednesday against Cleveland, going 4-5 with a double, 2 homers, a steal, and 7 RBIs in the 13-4 win. Setting aside the ridiculousness of the 436/542/872 slash line through 48 PAs, there is certainly enough here to warrant a pickup. The plate discipline is tremendous, the contact ability is very good, and the speed is also well above average. There doesn't appear to even be average power here, but he's up to 17 HRs for the season between AAA and the majors, and he has 20 2B and 6 3B as well. Even if he's only a 10-15 HR hitter, that will certainly play with the OBP and SB that he's likely to put up, and he just turned 24 about 6 weeks ago. For a guy that hit .185 in most of a season at AA just last season, he looks surprisingly competent at the plate, and I'm loath to write him off as a complete fluke. A reasonable expectation moving forward would be a decent AVG and very good OBP, below average power, and well above average SB, which is a player worth having in just about all formats.
Matt Shaw (3B - CHC) - Shaw homered for the 4th time in the past 6 games on Wednesday, giving him 10 for the season, and he added in his 15th SB as well. Shaw came into the game hitting 328/349/770 in the second half, and he now has 8 HR and 4 SB since the break. I'm glad the Cubs chose to ride with him instead of blocking him with an acquisition, because after they sent him back to AAA and he hit 286/409/560 in 24 G, it's clear to me that he doesn't have anything left to learn at that level. I'm not sure just how much power is here, but good contact ability, good plate discipline, and good speed is a solid foundation to build on for the 23 year old, and he did hit 21 HR in 121 G in the minors last year (and has 10 in just 85 G in MLB this season). Moving forward, I think the AVG and OBP will be helpers, and if he's merely a 15-20 HR and 15-20 SB guy in a solid lineup, that'll be enough for him to be a worthwhile player in all formats.
