Elly De La Cruz, SS (CIN)
De La Cruz is finally off the schneid. The dynamic shortstop hammered a 6th-inning fastball 366 feet for his first home run since July 31. It was his 20th long ball of the season. He also walked twice and was caught stealing once. He is now hitting .262 with 20 homers and 35 stolen bases. It's a far cry from the 25 homers and 67 steals accumulated in 2024. Part of the power decline can be attributed to a decline in quality of contact (EV, Barrel %, etc.), but De La Cruz is also hitting the ball in the air less. Furthermore, his HR/FB rate is down about 4.5% from 2024 and down 10% from 2023. In terms of the SB category, De La Cruz has attempted 40 fewer stolen bases this year than last year as his speed is actually down. Despite the volatility, De La Cruz will enter 2026 as one of the safest providers of 20+ homers and 35+ steals.
Isaac Paredes, 3B (HOU)
Paredes returned to the Astros lineup exactly two months after landing on the injured list with a severe hamstring strain. He reached base a couple times in what was otherwise a very quiet night for the Houston offense. His return is a big lift for the Astros as they head into the postseason. Acquired prior to the season from the Cubs in the trade that sent Kyle Tucker to Chicago, Paredes has been a solid power presence from the hot corner. He has always provided elite plate discipline, but he's taken it up a notch in 2025, posting a 0.73 BB/K rate and a 5.4% swinging-strike rate. The cynics will point out Paredes' extremely low exit velocity, but he has a 22.5-degree launch angle. With so many flyballs and line drives, Paredes is able to tally up just enough home runs to satisfy fantasy owners. The hamstring injury will cost him the counting stats most would like to see, but that can be used as a tactic to get really nice value on him heading into the 2026 draft season.
Parker Messick, SP (CLE)
Messick posted another strong start on Friday, although his pitch count was a bit high which is why he failed to complete six innings. It was only the second time in six starts Messick failed to reach six full frames. However, he only gave up two runs in 5.1 innings while striking out a season-high nine batters. While his production has been fantastic in his rookie season, Messick hasn't been piling up a lot of strikeouts. The young southpaw entered the game with only 22 K's in 29.1 innings, but on Friday he generated 18 whiffs and finished with a 37% CSW rate. All five of his pitches were effective, led as usual by his above-average changeup. In fact, Friday's outing resembled his minor league stats. He was a high-strikeout performer in the lower levels, albeit with a higher walk rate. He presents a nice late-round fantasy option that could turn into a draft-day steal in 2026.
Zack Gelof, 2B (ATH)
Gelof's forgettable 2025 season is over. The 25-year-old dislocated his shoulder while making a play in the field, and the A's will place him on the injured list this weekend. What a lost season for a player that entered the year with unique power/speed potential. He finishes with only two home runs and one stolen base in 92 at bats. Gelof missed the first three months of the season following offseason hand surgery mixed with a rib injury. He was awful upon his return which led to a demotion to AAA-Sacramento and now his season ends a week-and-a-half early. Only 30 games is simply too small a sample size to draw drastic conclusions, but injury concerns now add to concerns over plate discipline and mediocre quality of contact. That makes Gelof a risky fantasy pick in 2026, although those concerns will certainly lead to a precipitous drop in ADP.
Christian Moore, 2B (LAA)
Moore entered Friday's game with a max exit velocity of 108.7 miles per hour, but the 22-year-old slugger topped that in a big way with a 111.6-mph fly ball that traveled 430 feet for his seventh home run. He finished 1-for-4 with the home run, two RBI's and two strikeouts. Three of his seven homers have come in his last five games, four in his last nine games. Big power and big swing-and-miss. That's been the standard for Moore during his rookie season. Give him some time for development, which will inevitably come with some bumps and bruises along the way. The talent, however, is there.
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