Henry Bolte (OF - ATH) - Bolte came into Wednesday's game with Toronto hitting 367/513/700 through 8 September contests, and a solo homer (his 10th) in that one gives him a 9 game on-base streak. There is a lot to like here, from the excellent speed to the elite bat speed, but the 23 year old isn't quite fully formed yet if you ask me. There are still massive contact issues, which is problem #1, and while they've improved a small amount they haven't moved enough to make me think that they won't always be an issue. The second thing is more of a choice: at present, Bolte is very clearly prioritizing getting on-base over utilizing his plus power. His GB% is 62.8 through 353 ABs, and even in the second half where he's hit .294, it's 59%. There just simply aren't enough fly balls for him to get to 20 HR the way that he hits right now, and that's definitely going to cap him as perhaps a 15/30 guy. That many grounders does keep his AVG up despite the contact issues, because he is fast enough to beat out a sizable percentage of them (his IF hit% is just barely under 10), and if he tries to tap into his power more the AVG is very vulnerable. I don't see any way that Bolte is a real 5-category contributor unless you're OBP over AVG, but at just 23 there is obviously some room for further growth. He's definitely an exciting player to add to their home-grown core (most of whom are currently injured) and remains so for 2027 and beyond.
Jackson Merrill (OF - SD) - It's been a disappointing year for the Padre CF, although it's been a healthy one to this point. The negatives have been the ongoing poor plate discipline and contact ability plus a healthy helping of bad luck (xAVG/xSLG of 264/478 vs AVG/SLG of 239/413), but days like Wednesday point to the massive ceiling that Merrill still possesses. He went 4-5 with a 3B and 2 HR against Washington in a 9-2 win, tallying 6 RBI and pushing his SLG up 18 points in game #143. It's worth remembering that Merrill is still just 23, and his base stealing, EV, and bat speed all have been much improved this year. He's at 24/25 with 16 games to go, and still has a few years until he's in his prime. I believe that he will be undervalued again come spring, as he was this year.
Jakob Marsee (OF - MIA) - It's been a very disappointing year for the 37th drafted OF, but a recent hot streak is making things look a touch better. Marsee had 4 hits on Wednesday in the 15-14 loss to the Mets, giving him 4 straight multi-hit games to push his line up to 224/341/341. With the league average OBP at .319, it has indeed been a helping OBP fueled by both excellent plate discipline and contact ability. The problems have been twofold: the power has regressed a bit from last year, and despite good speed he has been rather unsuccessful on the basepaths. Yes, he looks likely to get close to a 10/25 season in the end, but there was certainly hope for a bit more there. With his patience and ability to make contact, below average power and above average speed can still make for a productive player....something better than a .270 BABIP from a 23.5% LD rate would help that along. I've still got some hope for 2027 and beyond, but my enthusiasm has definitely been tempered a bit by this year's performance.
Kade Anderson (SP - SEA) - It's been 4 starts now for Anderson with the Mariners, and while he was very solid Wednesday against the Rangers (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), he still hasn't been anywhere near the level that he showed down in the minors. It's been a pretty friendly schedule too, aside from the Cubs, and he's slated to finish off the year with a home/road against the Angels sandwiched around a trip to Coors. I really had hoped for more from the 22 year old, but it's a big step from AA to MLB...for example, he's already allowed as many homers in 21 innings with Seattle as he did in 93 innings at AA. I do think that Anderson will be a good pitcher next season, and I even think that he could be better than average for the last 3 starts this year even with Colorado mixed in, but as he was never an electric stuff guy to begin with, I wonder if his ceiling is more very good than elite. Food for thought when considering his value next season.
Carter Jensen (C - KC) - Jensen walked and homered again on Wednesday (his 22nd), and over the last two weeks he has really started to hit like we know he's capable of: 319/407/830 with 12 R, 11 RBI, 6 HR, and 1 SB over 13 games. He's been the 6th most valuable C offensively during the second half by my calculations, and he's really reaffirming my faith in him as a long-term star at the position for KC. In the second half his chase rate has been down, his in-zone swing% has been up, and the swinging strike rate has been down: all adjustments that you want to see from a young player toward the end of their first full season. He will most definitely be a target of mine once again in 2027.
