Dylan Crews, OF Washington Nationals
Crews went 2-4 with 3 R, 1 K, on one hard hit ball. The former 3rd overall pick was really underwhelming in 2024 and 2025, but that's a bit harsh given his age. Crews is still only 24 and now has a bit more minor league seasoning underneath his belt. The patience has paid off so far - his 10% barrel rate, 13.3 LA, 36.8 LASS, .270 xBA, and .408 xwOBACON are super exciting. They excite me more than the average player due to Crews' ability to run and hit homers. He has 574 PA's in his career, so basically a full season, and he's hit 18 homers and stolen 31 bases in that span. That'll play. If he can provide both ratios and counting stats...I'm in. This is an upside bench stash who I'm really looking forward to exploding in the 2nd half.
Parker Messick, SP, Cleveland Guardians
Messick went 7.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. He allowed 7 hard hit balls. Messick was really consistent all year, up until recently. He allowed 3 ER or greater only twice before June, but has done so twice in June. I don't think it's too much of a pattern just yet. Messick features an excellent balance of characteristics that make me think he will continue to be consistent the rest of the season. A combination of a 43% GB rate, 26% K rate, and manageable 8% walk rate means you can trust him. The 3.34 xERA and 3.43 xFIP would suggest he's gotten somewhat lucky so far. His 80% LOB rate and .272 BABIP also point to some slight luck but nothing major I'd say. The point is that Messick might not be an ace but he's a consistent, trustworthy high-end SP2.
Jac Caglianone, OF, Kansas City Royals
Caglianone went 3-5 with 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, K on four hard hit balls. I know my colleagues have written about Cags a lot recently, but I felt the need to do so myself after being so high on him in the preseason. Caglianone is slashing .373/.453/.733 in June. Utterly insane. His quality of balls in play is one of the best in the bigs - and that's not a recent narrative, that's still considering his slow start to the season. His .505 xwOBACON, 93.6 EV, and 16.2% Barrel rate are elite. The biggest improvement Cags has made recently are the launch angles. His LASS has jumped to 38.9%, his LA has nearly doubled, and his Pull Air rate sits at 19%. Don't worry that he punches out a lot. That only matters if the quality of contact is not elite. But it is. It's so good he has a .280 xBA. This guy is only slightly worse than Nick Kurtz across the board. But that's still ultra high praise!
Kyle Stowers, OF, Miami Marlins
Stowers went 1-5 with 2B, 2 K on 2 hard hit balls. Stowers broke out last year hitting 25 homers and slashing .288/.368/.544. Stowers struck out at 27% that year with a whiff rate of 32.5%. Those were both career bests, which was the problem. Players who miss this much and punchout this much tend to go thru dry spells. It happens. Stowers' 51.9% HH rate, .433 xwOBACON, and 20% Pull Air are all plenty strong. But when you punch out this much, strong isn't enough. The quality of contact needs to be better when you punch out this much. I'm very worried about Stowers rest-of-season.
Mason Miller, RP, San Diego Padres
Miller went 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K in the top of the 9th in a tie game. The hype has died down a bit on Miller, but not because of performance, but because of the opposite. He is just so amazing that we are all getting a bit fatigued. However, I'd argue this is Miller's best year yet. His 1.22 xERA, 51.2% K rate, 14.9% BB rate, .253 xwOBACON against, and .110 xBA against are all not only career bests, but probably represent one of the best stretches of pitching of all time. He's on pace for 42 saves and over 120 punchouts. Starting v Reliever ability aside, he is the best pitcher in all of baseball.
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