Konnor Griffin (SS-PIT) went 3-4 with a SB, 3 RBI, and his first MLB homer against the Brewers on Friday. The 20 year-old had started his MLB career slowly as he was batting just .182 with no homers, 8 RBI, 7 R, and 4 SB in 73 PA entering Saturday's action while fanning at a 30% clip and walking at just a 5.5% rate. With a 16% swinging-strike rate and 85.5% in-zone contact rate, quantity of contact was lacking, as was quality of contact as Statcast shows a 26.5% hard-hit rate, 9.5% barrel rate, and average exit velo of just 86 mph. Perhaps Friday's performance is a sign that he's figuring out big-league pitching. Regardless, hold tight as the tools are there.
Nick Kurtz (1B-ATH) continued to surge as he went 2-4 with a solo HR, BB, and additional R at the Rangers. After an ice-cold start to the 2026 campaign, Kurtz has picked things up a lot as of late, going yard four times in his last six games. He's now batting .253 with 5 HR, 12 RBI, 16 R, and 3 SB through his first 115 PA of the campaign. While the strikeouts remain a problem (31.5% overall), he's tempered a little that as of late while continuing to draw walks; his walk rate is up to 24.5% on the year after he drew another on Friday night. While his 75% in-zone contact rate is identical to what he posted a year ago, his swinging-strike rate is down a touch from over 14% to 13.5%. But he's making more loud contact than ever as Statcast shows a 66.5% hard-hit rate (51% in 2025), 23% barrel rate (18.5%), and average exit velocity of 99 mph (92.5). If there was a buy-low window in fantasy leagues, it's closed now.
Angel Martinez (2B/OF-CLE) stayed red-hot as he went 2-4 with a pair of HR and 4 RBI at Toronto on Friday. The 24 year-old has been raking as of late and is now batting .284 with 5 HR, 14 RBI, 12 R, and 4 SB across 80 PA in 2026. He makes a lot of contact (86% overall and 93.5% in zone) while making a fair bit of loud contact, with Statcast showing a 40.5% hard-hit rate, 9% barrel rate, and average exit velocity of 88.5 mph. His aggressive approach at the dish (39.5% chase rate) will chip into his hard-hit rate and erode his average and this amount of pop is simply unsustainable, so enjoy the hot streak while it lasts.
Brandon Woodruff (SP-MIL) took the L against the Pirates on Friday as he allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3 over 5 IP. The 33 year-old righty fired 50 of his 71 offerings for strikes while yielding 1 homer, the first of Konnor Griffin's career. Woodruff has been solid if unspectacular to open the 2026 campaign as he now owns a 3.77 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, and 4.47 xFIP through 28.2 IP. The gap between the ERA and xFIP does indicate that a .235 BABIP in particular is suppressing his ERA. Overall, Woodruff's peripherals aren't really bad, with the main outlier being his 10.5% swinging-strike rate, which is down from his 12.5% career clip. Otherwise, it's been par for the course and he might be a good trade target if his owner in your league is a bit underwhelmed with the ERA and strikeouts. Up next is a home start against the Diamondbacks.
Noah Schultz (SP-CHW) is scheduled to take the hill against the Nationals at home on Saturday in a challenging spot. Washington ranks 5th in overall team OPS (.741) this season and 4th overall in team OPS against lefties (.792) so far this season. For his part, Schulz rebounded from an erratic MLB debut against the Rays (4.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 4 K) to earn his first big-league win with a much better outing against the Athletics (5 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 6 K). A first-round pick in the 2022 amateur draft, the towering southpaw has nice fantasy upside based on his big heater (96-mph average) and plus 83-mph slider but control issues marred his work in the high minors a season ago. He should be rostered, but Schultz is not an auto-start against a Nationals lineup that has produced so far in 2026.
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