Josh Hader- RP- HOU- Great Player- Entering play last night, Hader had a K/9 of 12.21. It's an impressive number but it is the lowest of his career. Hader had an interview this week and was asked about it and if there was something that was causing that. He replied that it is by design. Hader said that the ABS has changed how batters approach hitting so he was trying to induce more contact and reduce his pitch counts. Hader averaged 16.45 pitchers per IP in 2024 and 16.08 last year. In 2026 Hader is averaging 14.87 before last night. His EV is 86.4, down from 86.4 in 2025 and 89.7 in 2024. Hader has a 33.8% HardHit%, just a bit below his 2025 number. The numbers bear out was Hader said. Looking ahead, it appears his dip in K/9 is not a portent of age-related decline. Hader may not hit the same heights in Ks, but his overall performance will still be elite. Even a lower K/9 is well above average.
Bo Bichette- SS- NYM- Stats- Bichette went 0-for-4 yesterday. That broke his modest 5-game hitting streak. Bichette had collected multiple hits in 3 of those games. It has been a disappointing first season in New York. His .264/.313/.397 slash line puts him at just about the average in wRC+. Bichette's 89.6 EV and 41.5% HardHIt% are well below his numbers in 2025. They are close to what Bichette posted in 2024 when he slashed .225/.277/.322 in 336 PAs. He doesn't have the same injury issues he did then. Bichette has underperformed as his xBA is 12 points higher than his results and his xSLG is 16 points higher. Expectations for 2027 will be more in line with his career 118 wRC+ and not the 134 he had in 2025.
Christian Koss- 2B- SF- Hot- Koss went 2-for-4 with 2 homers yesterday. The effort added 8 points to his batting average and he is now slashing .211/.253/.310. Koss has performed almost exactly to expectations for his average while underperforming in slugging, from a Statcast perspective. Before yesterday his xBA was .206 and xSLG was .278. Last year Koss was similarly close in results and expectations, with a .264 AVG and .263 BA to go with a .368 SLG and .402 xSLG. He has a 51.5% GB% this year and was at 48.1% in 2025. Koss is looking like a AAAA player. He slashed .407/.448/.630 in a small sample size of 29 PAs this year in the minors. Koss slashed .299/.376/.496 in a larger 324 PA sample in 2024, primarily in AAA.
Kyle Stowers- OF- MIA- Hot- Stowers went 2-for-4 with a homer and a walk yesterday. He is slashing .250/.336/.479 with 19 homers in 442 PAs. Stowers have metrics that show elite power potential with a 92.4 EV, 55.9% HardHit%, and 12.6% Barrel%. His weak spot is making contact. He has a 32% K%, which is 4th percentile and his 36.2% Whiff% is 2nd percentile. If he can evolve beyond a "three two outcome" hitter then his value will skyrocket. If he can improve a bit on his BB% of 9.6 he could be the next other Kyle, that would be Schwarber.
Braxton Ashcraft- P- PIT- Rookie- Ashcraft was pulled after throwing 67 pitches in 5 IP yesterday. An amazing 52 of them were for strikes and he recorded 9 Ks. Lower pitch counts will likely be a thing for Ashcraft as the season winds down. The Pirates don't want to push him much more than they have. Ashcraft has thrown 2413 pitches in 2026 (1684 of them strikes.) That's way above his previous professional high of 1870 between AAA Indianapolis and Pittsburgh last year. Ashcraft has actually underperformed this year, with a 3.65 ERA, 3.49 FIP, and 3.17 xFIP. This usage pattern may reduce his fantasy value for the end of 2026, but could help him continue progress in 2027.
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