Gunnar Henderson, SS, Baltimore Orioles
Henderson went 1-2 with 2 RBI, BB on one hard hit ball. It has been a down year for the first round pick, as his OPS has plummeted from .893 to .786. Fortunately, he is a strong bounceback candidate with some nice underlying figures. Henderson still managed to post a .409 xwOBACON and 48.9% HH rate in his down season. He also posted his highest xBA of .287 in his career. His season long stats are largely pulled down by starting the season slow after suffering an injury in the Spring. If he comes at a discount in 2026, I'll be taking him often.
Royce Lewis, 3B, Minnesota Twins
Lewis went 0-5 with 3 K in a very unproductive Tuesday night. The once famed prospect and coveted fantasy asset has largely fallen off the map. But alas, the overcorrection is potentially here. While I've been very lukewarm on Lewis in general, I must admit that he had the best season of his career. My best, I must also mean that he was the healthiest, taking 384 trips to the plate thus far, his career high. He also posted 13 HR and 12 SB, which would project close to 20-20 in a full season. Lewis' 25.2% Pull Air rate and 41.1% HH rate keep him interesting. We cannot completely write him off in 2026. I won't overdraft him given the injury history, but he was, technically, productive this year.
William Contreras, C, Milwaukee Brewers
Contreras went 0-3 with a K on two hard hit balls. There are VERY few everyday catchers who hit well in the bigs. It's an ultra rare-commodity. So while Contreras wasn't a star hitter, his super solid production made him valuable, and many probably reached for him to secure that elite-catcher team build. Unfortunately, Contreras took a step back in the slash column posting .262/.358/.403, with most of the decline coming from slugging. The good news is that the decline might be caused just by some statistical noise. His 6.9 LA, 31.7% LASS, and 48.2% HH are all largely in line with his career average. His 18/13 K/BB ratio is actually a career best. He set a career low in whiff rate at 24.3%. The main culprit here is the barrel rate, as his 6.5% was a career low, and it caused his xwOBACON to tank to .366. He just didn't get to those big hits as often. Contreras had a "down" year, but I don't think he's changed much as a hitter, and can see a bounceback in 2026.
Cole Ragans, SP, Kansas City Royals
Ragans made just his second start since June, a result of coming off the IL recently. He posted a line of 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. He allowed only five hard hit balls. Ragans's ERA on the season sits at 4.88, but his xERA of 2.77 tells a different story. His 36% K rate and .199 xBA against speak to how dominant he was before injury. I'll be targeting him in 2026 drafts.
James Wood, OF, Washington Nationals
Wood went 2-3 with R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB on two hard hit balls. The first half star has struggled mightily in the second half, slashing just .218/.302/.356. In 252 second half PA's, he's hit only 4 homers and stolen 3 bases, making him largely unplayable. For 2026, Wood is a very difficult evaluation due to some pretty extremes in his profile. On the bad side, Wood is whiffing at 33% and striking out at 32%, both of which are unacceptably bad rates. His 19.9% Oppo Air rate is much higher than his 11.2% Pull Air. The sheer inability to make clean pull-side contact, and contact in general, definitely leaves him susceptible to prolonged slumps. Wood's second half is an example of this. The good is that his .504 xwOBACON is actually much higher than his .450 xwOBACON last year, and his Barrel %, EV, LA, and LASS all took respectable steps forward. Believe it or not, the quality of balls in play was much better compared to last season. Wood is the ultimate upside/downside play in 2026 - a true lottery ticket. Consider that when you draft him in 2026.
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