Sal Stewart, 1B, Reds
Sal Stewart continued his sensational rookie campaign on Monday, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, two runs, two RBI, and a stolen base. He's now slashing a robust .289/.388/.639 with 17 runs, 8 home runs, 20 RBI, and 5 stolen bases. If the power and speed aren't exciting enough, he's also put up a 18.4% strikeout rate and 14.3% walk rate, which are incredibly impressive for such a young hitter. The 22-year-old is breaking out, and his underlying metrics support it. He's posted a 22.2% barrel rate (97th percentile), .585 xSLG (94th percentile), and 49.2% hard-hit rate (80th percentile) that paint him as an elite hitter. He also gets to play half of his games in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball, which gives him a nice floor to fall back on. If that's not good enough, he has also made two appearances at second base. Depending on your league and whether it takes 5 or 10 games to gain eligibility at a position, he may not be too far away from becoming eligible at the weakest position in fantasy.
Jac Caglianone, OF, Royals
Jac Caglianone has been one of the most disappointing players in fantasy so far, but he finally got on the board with his first homer of the season on Monday. It was his only hit of the game to go along with a walk, and he's now slashing .269/.347/.403. The batting average and on-base percentage are actually pretty solid, but he's been missing the elite power that many drafted him to provide. However, based on the underlying metrics, there may not be much to worry about at all. Despite the poor power numbers, he's posted a 99th percentile exit velocity of 95.1 mph, a 91st percentile barrel rate of 16.7%, and a 93rd percentile hard-hit rate of 57.1%. Some concerns are a pull air rate of only 14.3% and a strikeout rate of 30%, but he has the outlier raw power that can offset those. I wouldn't worry too much about Caglianone yet, as his elite exit velocities are bound to turn into results soon enough.
Payton Tolle, SP, Red Sox
Payton Tolle is one of the best pitching prospects in Triple-A, and he would be a must-add as soon as he's promoted. While he didn't pitch on Monday, Sonny Gray notably left his start with a hamstring injury and is expected to be placed on the injured list. The Red Sox are expected to call up Tyler Samaniego in the meantime, but Tolle is no longer starting Tuesday as expected. All signs point to Tolle getting the call once Gray's turn comes up in the rotation, and this is something worth getting very excited about. In the minors in 2025, the youngster posted a 3.04 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with a marvelous 36.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. He did post a 6.06 ERA in 16.1 brief major league innings, but he has bounced back in Triple-A this year with a 3.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 31.1% strikeout rate. He has ace upside and is a more highly regarded prospect than Connelly Early, who has had his own success at the major league level. Go pick up Tolle before your league mates get the chance.
Daylen Lile, OF, Nationals
Daylen Lile launched a solo homer and walked once on Monday against the Braves. It was his second home run in the past three games, and he's showing signs of heating up at the dish. He's now slashing .284/.327/.411 with 14 runs, 2 home runs, 9 RBI, and one steal. There's actually reason to believe he's been getting unlucky, as his xBA is a significantly better .308, which ranks in the 95th percentile. He's also posted a 42.1% launch angle sweet spot rate and 31.7% squared-up rate, which rank in the 88th and 87th percentiles, respectively. Overall, his underlying metrics look pretty similar to those of last season, when he caught fire towards the end of the year and ended up hitting .299 with 9 homers and 8 steals through 91 games. Only one stolen base in 2026 is disappointing, but with a 95th percentile sprint speed, there should be a lot more coming soon.
Justin Wrobleski, SP, Dodgers
Justin Wrobleski was great once again on Monday, allowing one run on eight hits and no walks with three strikeouts over seven innings. This is coming off an eight-inning shutout gem in his last time out, and his ERA now sits at 1.88. However, his strikeout rate on the year is only 9.8%, which is hard to imagine leading to this type of success. This start was no different than the others, with a miniscule 9% whiff rate. Although successful on the night, he threw his slider 21 times and got 0 total whiffs. His .272 xBA ranks in the 24th percentile, which is also not a sign of good things to come. At this point, it's worth riding the hot streak, but don't expect it to last all year.
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