Another 7 Hitters Now in Starting Lineups! Aug 5, 2025 Edition

Yesterday, I discussed 10 hitters that have recently joined starting lineups as every day or near every day hitters. However, there were so many of them that I only got through half the teams. So let’s get through the rest to see if we can uncover some potential gems over the final two months of the season.

Robert Hassell III | WAS

Up earlier this season in late May through mid-June, Hassell has returned to the Majors and has started two of three games since, serving on the strong side of a platoon. With Dylan Crews expected to return in the coming weeks, he’ll have a bit of time to prove he should remain in the Majors this time.

The 23-year-old isn’t exactly a prospect, ranking just 21st in the Nationals organization. But he does own 60 grade speed, so perhaps he’s worthy of fantasy owners’ attention. At Triple-A this season, he showed pretty strong plate discipline with a double digit walk rate and sub-20% strikeout rate, backed by a SwStk% just below 10%.

He has shown decent home run power with mid-teen HR/FB rates, but a middling HardHit%. The problem here is he just doesn’t hit a high rate of fly balls. With just a 26.2% mark this year and an almost identical rate last year, his home run ceiling is capped. He does steal bases though, swiping 16 this year and 15 last year, which came in essentially half a season.

So perhaps in a full season, he’s got 15-20 upside, which is pretty intriguing. Batting at the bottom of the order and sitting against lefties takes a bite out of his value though, meaning he’s left for just NL-Only leaguers.

Freddy Fermin | SD

From Salvador Perez’s backup to starting catcher, Fermin has started the last two games for the Padres, making it appear he’s now the team’s starter after they picked him up before the trade deadline.

The 30-year-old is one of those “he won’t kill me” type catchers. You know, the one that hits .210 that you’re praying at least hits double digit homers to salvage his value. Fermin has posted sub-20% strikeout rates for two years running now, so his batting average will likely earn positive value in the majority of leagues.

Unfortunately, that’s about it here. His power has disappeared since an outlier 2023 season, as his HardHit% has declined and his Barrel% is now a third of what it had been. So really, his value right now is entirely driven by his playing time and getting hits here and there, so as to not kill your batting average. That’s NL-Only material.

Hunter Feduccia | TB

The Rays picked up Feduccia from the Dodgers before the trade deadline and he has started two of three games at catcher since, even starting against a lefty. I would presume he would be in a strong side platoon role with the right-handed Nick Fortes, but perhaps not.

Feduccia ranked just 29th among Dodgers prospects with no scouting grades that would excite fantasy owners. He did earn a 55/60 Field grade, which is only noteworthy in that good defense could keep him in the lineup.

That said, OBP leaguers might want to pay some attention. He has posted double digit walk rates at every single minor league stop, which goes back to 2018. That’s impressive! He has even posted single digit SwStk% marks over the majority of his career. So hey, this skill set actually sounds quite intriguing.

He’s shown some power too, posting double digit HR/FB rates at times, including a 16.1% mark at Triple-A this season with a 43.1% HardHit%. But it’s his fourth season at Triple-A, so perhaps we should be taking these numbers with a grain of salt.

If you need a catcher in a deep OBP league, he looks like a good target.

Jonny DeLuca | TB

DeLuca is finally back from the IL and has become the team’s starting center fielder. Though his power hasn’t yet translated to the Majors, he’s shown better in the minors. The real intrigue here has been his speed, as he’s swiped 22 bases with the Rays and already has five this year over just 48 PAs.

Excellent defense should help him stay in the lineup. I think he’s got some more power than he has shown and projections forecast a full season could result in 15-20 home runs with 20-25 steals. That’s pretty darn good, though the systems also think he’s a .230 hitter. Sadly, he rarely walks so he doesn’t get a boost in OBP leagues.

Though it’s always frustrating to own Rays given the random days off, he’s a worthy speculation in deep leagues for his potential power and speed contributions.

Austin Martin | MIN

The former fifth overall pick has been a major bust so far, but he’s getting another chance after the Twins made a number of deadline deals. The 26-year-old has started in center field in three of four games since his recall, all from the leadoff spot.

Throughout his minor league career, he has posted strong plate discipline numbers, with high walk rates and low strikeout rates supported by single digit SwStk% marks. That has not changed this year when he actually walked more than he struck out. That approach has led to some gaudy OBP marks, as he posted a .420 mark this year, just one of a number of seasons he was above .400.

Aside from his ability to get on base, he does possess some speed. He stole 35 bases back in 2022, and 19 over just 282 PAs in 2023. Last year between the minors and Majors, he swiped 15 bases in 387 PAs, but he ran less this year, stealing just three bases over 150 Triple-A PAs. Without the promise of steals, fantasy value is going to be hard to accrue. That’s especially true considering he owns almost no power. His ISO hasn’t even been above .100 since 2023 and he’s hit just three home runs since 2024.

Overall, this is mostly a playing time and hitting leadoff value with a couple of steals, which totally plays in AL-Only leagues, but that’s about it.

Alan Roden | MIN

Another beneficiary of the new look Twins lineup, Roden came over from the Blue Jays and immediately looks like the starting left fielder on the strong side of a platoon. He actually came into the year as the Jays’ second best prospect and 94th overall, but didn’t hit over his first 113 PAs with the team.

But man, his minor league history is intriguing. His plate discipline is in line with Martin’s in that he has always walked at double digit clips while striking out at nearly the same rate. It has led to consistently strong OBP marks, which gives him a massive value boost in leagues that count that instead of batting average.

Unlike Martin, he does have some power, but a line drive approach has limited his fly ball rate which does cap his home run potential. Like Martin though, he has speed, though not nearly as much. He stole 24 bases in 2023 and 14 last year. The upside here is 10/10+ with a batting average that shouldn’t hurt, and an OBP that should help if you play in such a format. Sitting against lefties is going to hurt his counting stats, though.

Edouard Julien | MIN

Finally, the third newest member of the revamped Twins lineup is Julien, who is no stranger to their starting roster. He has started four straight at second base, even including a game against a left-hander. It’s worth noting that prospect Luke Keaschall is expected to be activated from the IL and could relegate Julien to the bench.

If that doesn’t happen, you’ll get another very interesting skill set. Julien has been a huge walker, posting mid-to-high teen walk rates throughout his minor league career, even owning a 13.2% walk rate in the Majors. However, all that patience has led to lots of strikeouts, even though he has rarely posted a double digit SwStk% mark.

He has offset those strikeouts by posting huge BABIP marks, so he has posted respectable batting averages in the minors, but a drop in BABIP in the Majors has caused his average to tumble. He’s got power too, but he’ll need to hit a higher rate of fly balls to convert that power into more home runs.

This is another name who gets a huge OBP format boost and would look like a pretty nice value over a full season if he got the playing time.