Rafael Devers, 1B, SF
Devers continued his hot-hitting against the Pirates on Wednesday, going 2-3 with his 32nd HR of the season. Devers has been on a tear recently, as he has now homered in three straight games, and has a 10 game hitting streak during which he has hit .421 with 6 HR's and 13 RBI. There was some concern that Devers' power would wane when he was traded to San Francisco last season, but that hasn't been the case, as he has reached the 30 HR mark for the 5th time in his career, and has a chance to challenge his career-high of 38 dingers. In fact, more than half of his home runs have come at the pitcher-friendly Oracle Park this season. He continues to hit the ball extremely hard (50.7% HardHit%), and will once again be an early round draft choice in 2027.
Casey Mize, SP, SD
Mize lasted just 4 IP against the Reds on Wednesday, allowing 4 ER's on 5 hits, including 2 HR's, and 1 BB while striking out 4. Mize had posted a 2.70 ERA in 16 starts with the Tigers this season, but it's been a whole different story since he was traded to the Padres in early August. In 6 starts with San Diego, he has recorded a 6.67 ERA with a 15:9 K:BB in 27 IP. He has already 8 HR's in his 27 IP with the Padres after allowing just 5 dingers across 86.2 IP with Detroit. He was due for regression in the home run department, as he has been allowing fly balls at a near 50% clip. Some fantasy owners may fondly remember Mize's strong first half this season when drafting in 2027, but the fact is that his xFIP is currently at 4.28, and his career low in that mark is 3.97. He's never finished a season with an ERA below 3.50, and his strikeout rate is below average. That doesn't make him a great target in 2027.
Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, ATL
Acuna had a huge day at the plate against the Nationals on Wednesday, going 3-5 with a HR, 3 RBI and a SB. The homer was the 200th of his career. It's been a disappointing season overall for Acuna, who's hitting a career low .243 with 14 HR's and a .761 OPS through 87 games. He's still hitting the ball hard, and his BABIP is way below his career average, so there's good reason to be optimistic that he'll improve on those numbers next season. At this point, it seems pretty clear that his historic 2023 season is an outlier in his career, both in terms of his strikeout rate, which was less than half of any other season in his career, and his lofty stolen base total. Unfortunately, it also seems to be an outlier in terms of his health, as he has played in just 231 over the last 3 seasons combined due to injuries. On the bright side, Acuna does have 20 SB's through 87 games this year after stealing just 9 bases across 95 games in 2025. He still has the talent for a 30-30 season, but expecting him to play a full season is not a great assumption.
Christian Yelich, OF, MIL
Yelich didn't start Wednesday's game against the Cubs, but he came off the bench and went 2-3 with 2 runs scored. It's been an awful year for Yelich as he has just 10 dingers on the season, but he's picked things up a bit recently, going 16-45 (.356) with 2 HR's, 5 doubles, and 9 RBI over his last 13 games. Yelich did hit 29 HR's last season, but that was the only time he's reached the 20 HR plateau since 2019. We may have to just accept that this is who he is at this point, and that he hits too many ground balls (56.2% GB%) to be a reliable power source.
Trevor Rogers, SP, BAL
Rogers was stellar against the Rockies on Wednesday, striking out 11 in 6.2 IP, while allowing 2 ER's on 6 hits and no BB's. Rogers has had an up and down season for the Orioles, mixing in some strong stretches with some not so strong ones, but it's been mostly good over the past few months. Over his last 13 starts, Rogers has produced a shiny 2.99 ERA, and a spectacular 84:15 K:BB across 78.1 IP. The elevated strikeout rate is especially encouraging, as he had been struggling to whiff batters earlier in the season. His strong play has positioned himself to be the Orioles ace in 2027 if he remains with the team.
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