Travis Bazzana, 2B, Cleveland Guardians
Bazzana went 0-3 with 2 K on one hard hit ball. He's struggled a bit this month slashing just .240/.306/.280 with no homers. My main concern with Bazzana is that his contact and discipline is a little light for someone who is a contact/discipline-first guy. His 85% Z Contact, 26% Chase, and 25% Whiff are all respectable but not really good enough when you consider how light his impact is. A .324 xwOBACON, 4.6% Barrel, and .227 xBA simply don't cut it...at all. He has 16th Percentile bat speed, and this seems like it's going to really pull down the profile. Bazzana will always walk a bit (11%), and his speed will allow him to steal bases, but right now I'm getting a lot of Nico Hoerner vibes.
Hagen Smith, RP, Chicago White Sox
Smith went 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K allowing one hard hit ball. Smith doesn't have the closer role, and isn't spot starting, so the scenarios where he's valuable for fantasy are niche. Nonetheless, this is a good player. In 11 big league innings, he has a 35% K rate, 47% GB rate, and .122 xBA against. The bad? 22.5% BB rate. Before callup, in 58.1 AAA innings, Smith had a 35% K rate, 45% GB rate, and .188 Avg against. He was getting 30% CSW. The bad? 15.9% BB rate. The walks are a problem, and his 42% zone rate is no bueno. Nonetheless, it's impressive that Smith has been able to strikeout big league hitters and get big league outs in spite of throwing so few strikes. It's because the arsenal is that good. Smith is VERY tempting to fill in if you need to make a push for extra K's and ERA from the RP spot.
Quinn Mathews, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
Mathews went 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K on 7 hard hit balls. This was easily the best start of his short career. Last outing he went 5 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, so it's nice to see the bounceback. Mathews had his time in the sun when he posted a 2.76 ERA across 143 MiLB IP in 2024. He hasn't quite been that same player since. Mathews is striking out 19.7% of big league hitters and walking 10.6%. Not a great ratio. He was walking 15% of hitters in AAA before callup. Mathews is the type of lefty that hitters will make tons of contact against, but the soft-stuff-first profile and mediocre fastball quality limit his ceiling.
Logan Henderson, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
Henderson went 7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K with 6 hard hit balls. The one hit was a solo homer. Henderson has been the talk of the town in terms of breakout arms. This was his 8th start in a row of at least 5 IP and 2 ER allowed or fewer. In fact, in 16 starts this year, he's allowed more than 2 ER only twice. Pretty darn good if you ask me. Henderson is punching out 30% of batters, and is a strike throwing machine coming in at a 5.3% BB rate and 55% Zone rate. Henderson's 27% Whiff rate isn't that strong for someone punching out 30% of hitters. His changeup leads the way with a 38% whiff rate, and his three other pitches come in at 22% whiff or below. He also lacks a true breaking ball, and has a putrid 30% GB rate. This is the type of guy I am very mixed on. I'm sure the premium Changeup will frustrate hitters and make him a productive fantasy asset for a long time, but a 2.48 ERA feels too good for someone that is only somewhat of a bat misser and has a homerun problem (27% Pull Air rate against). Especially in dynasty, I'm not paying the price tag right now. And I'd imagine in redraft there will be significant helium driving him up boards that might price me out.
Bryce Eldridge, 1B, San Francisco Giants
Eldridge went 2-5 with R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K on three hard hit balls. The rookie is showing me a lot of things that get me excited for his 2027. First, Eldridge's 82% Z contact and 12.5% BB rate are excellent for a rookie. His chase and whiff rates are within reasonable figures. Above all, I love his impact. A 52% HH rate and .435 xwOBACON will certainly play. He's currently running a .252 xBA. If we can get a .250-.260 BA with 35 homers next year, that's a superb outcome for someone who will only be 22. I'm in.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for tools that will help you win your fantasy championship. Click here for details: http://www.insiderbaseball.
