It’s a top prospect promotion party! Gunnar Henderson, the Orioles’ top prospect and fifth overall prospect, was called up from Triple-A yesterday, getting the start at third base, where he could see most of his starts. He should remain in the starting lineup the rest of the season, regardless of how he performs, but you never know with the Orioles. So let’s follow the same format as I did yesterday and discuss the pros and cons of his fantasy potential.

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After flying through the minors with impressive performances each step of the way, Corbin Carroll has finally reached the Majors. The 21-year-old was ranked as the Diamondbacks’ best prospect and the third best prospect in baseball, and fantasy owners having been eagerly anticipating the day he would make his MLB debut. After missing the majority of last season due to a shoulder injury, there were legitimate questions about how his performance might be affected once returning. Amazingly, Carroll has squashed any concerns, as he continued to make minor league pitchers look silly, while his power didn’t seem to deteriorate in the least.

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Now is the point in the season where you are probably looking to accumulate stats from just about anyone. Adding and dropping and adding and dropping as the season comes to an end is a strategy that has worked for me in the past, but I play in a few daily moves leagues, where you don’t have to bring waiver claims to auction or use “FAB” money. Some fantasy managers like to let their rosters ride, but if you’re falling behind, or just need a few more stolen bases to move up a roto-point, now is the time to be more active. Here are three players who have low ESPN roster rates and should steal at least five bases the rest of the way this season.

Jon Berti, 24.2% rostered ESPN, ROS SB (Steamer): 7

Berti has benefited from the injury to Jazz Chisholm Jr., from a playing time standpoint in 2022. He has mostly been an everyday 2B/3B and has stolen three bases so far in August. Berti won’t be helping your AVG/OBP/SLG ratios, but he will be attempting to steal bases as the Marlins have the most stolen bases in the MLB this season. Out of all three players listed in this article, Berti has the most ROS projected stolen bases but is probably going to be the least productive offensively overall.

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The new faces never end!

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What’s better than a Morning morning roundup highlighting four of the most recent new everyday players? Nothing!

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American League

Angels

• Players getting hurt (e.g. Walsh and Ward) and coming off the IL (e.g. Trout) make it hard to figure out if anyone new is a regular.

Astros

• Christian Vázquez (.761 OPS) has started in only three of the last 10 games.

• Chas McCormick (.746 OPS) was seeing regular at-bats (five straight starts) but then got hurt.

Athletics

• No one but Sean Murphy deserves and is getting full-time plate appearances.

• Since being called up, Shea Langeliers (.953 OPS) has started in eight of ten games, six at DH and two at catcher.

Blue Jays

• Over the last 10 games, Whit Merrifield has started in five of them and Santiago Espinal has started in six.

Guardians

• Steady

Mariners

• For some bizarre reason, Carlos Santana (.655 OPS with SEA) has started four straight.

• Jesse Winker (.715 OPS, 13 HR) has started against the last three lefties.

Orioles

• It’s tough to figure out who is or isn’t playing in the bottom half. Second base, third base, and one outfield spot are all timeshares right now.

Rangers

• Kole Calhoun (.621 OPS) and Bubba Thompson (.584 OPS) are splitting time in left field.

Rays

• Harold Ramírez (.330/.373/.448, 5 HR, 3 SB) has started seven straight.

• Brandon Lowe (vs RHP) and Yu Chang (vs LHP) are in a platoon.

Red Sox

• Enrique Hernández has started seven of nine games since coming off the IL while hitting .207/.226/.345 in those games.

Royals

• Drew Waters has started three straight while batting ninth. With Kansas City in AAA, he hit .295/.399/.541 with 7 HR and 13 SB in 143 PA.

• Michael Massey (.715 OPS, 1 HR, 1 SB) has only started in four of the last six games and I don’t know why.

Tigers

• Kerry Carpenter (.677 OPS, 2 HR) as sat against the last two lefties. Akil Baddoo (.486 OPS) is also only facing righties.

• Victor Reyes has started in 11 straight games. Over the past two weeks, he has a .783 OPS and 2 SB.

Twins

• Nick Gordon (.765 OPS vs RHP, .660 OPS vs LHP) has sat against the last three lefties.

• Max Kepler (.495 OPS over the last two weeks) has started 10 straight games, four against lefties.

• Gio Urshela (.741 OPS) has started in nine of the last ten games.

White Sox

• Since joining the team, Elvis Andrus (.471 OPS with CWS) has made six straight starts while batting seventh.

• Josh Harrison (.674 OPS) has started 13 of 14 games.

• Andrew Vaughn has sat twice in the last five games with Luis Robert back.

Yankees

• Giancarlo Stanton (batting third) is back and Oswaldo Cabrera stayed in the lineup hitting seventh. Cabrera (.563 OPS) has made eight straight starts.

National League

Braves

• Steady with Eddie Rosario sitting when both catchers are in the lineup.

Brewers

• Mike Brosseau starts against lefties and either Kolten Wong or Luis Urías sits.

• Jonathan Davis (vs RHP) and Tyrone Taylor (vs LHP) might be in a platoon.

Cardinals

• Brendan Donovan (.757 OPS vs LHP, .799 OPS vs RHP) is only starting against righties.

• Tommy Edman (.695 OPS) is getting buried at the bottom of the lineup.

Cubs

• In all fairness, everyone seems to be in some kind of timeshare except Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, and Seiya Suzuki.

Diamondbacks

• Emmanuel Rivera (.967 OPS with ARI) has hit second for six straight games.

• Since being called up, Stone Garrett (1.000 OPS) has started only four times in seven games.

Dodgers

• Small, nagging injuries (e.g. Lux with neck) make it tough to determine if anyone in the last few spots in a regular.

• Joey Gallo (1.010 OPS with the Dodgers) has only started in five of the last 10 games.

Giants

• The only regulars are Thairo Estrada (.716 OPS, 11 HR, 16 SB), Brandon Crawford (.646 OPS), Wilmer Flores (.770 OPS, 25 HR), and Mike Yastrzemski (.687 OPS, 12 HR, 5 SB).

Marlins

• Catcher qualified Nick Fortes (.242/.315/.447, 7 HR, 5 SB) has seven starts in the last 10 games.

• Jerar Encarnacion (22 HR in the minors) has started in five of the last six games.

• Peyton Burdick (.517 OPS) has started in 18 of the last 19 games.

Mets

• Brett Baty (.493 OPS) has started nine straight at third base.

• Mark Canha (.782 OPS) and Tyler Naquin (.767 OPS) remain in a timeshare.

Nationals

• Alex Call (13 HR, 9 SB in AAA) has hit first or second in four of the last five games. In 41 MLB PA, the 27-year-old has a .497 OPS.

• Ildemaro Vargas (3 HR, 1 SB, .740 OPS) has started 14 straight games.

• CJ Abrams has started nine straight but is only hitting .182/.206/.182 since joining the Nats.

Padres

• Steady with one too many bats when everyone is healthy.

Phillies

• Matt Vierling (.614 OPS, 5 HR, 6 SB, 4 CS) has started in 14 of the last 15 games.

• Bryson Stott (vs RHP) and Edmundo Sosa (vs LHP) are in a shortstop platoon.

Pirates

• Rodolfo Castro (.699 OPS, 3 HR, 34 SB) has made 12 straight starts.

• Tucupita Marcano (.238/.306/.393) has started in eight of the last 10 (five straight).

• Oneil Cruz (.694 OPS vs RHP, .560 OPS, 54% K% vs LHP) has sat against the last three lefties.

Reds

• TJ Friedl only faces righties for some bizarre reason (career .915 OPS vs LHP, .643 OPS vs RHP).

• Jake Fraley sat against the last two lefties with a career .443 OPS vs LHP and .791 OPS vs RHP.

• Donovan Solano (.831 OPS) is starting every day when healthy while hitting in the heart of the lineup.

Rockies

• Elehuris Montero (.255/.275/.453, 4 HR) has sat in two of the last three games after 18 straight starts. He might be in a platoon (bats right) with a .653 OPS vs righties and a .842 OPS vs lefties.

• Brian Serven (.664 OPS, 6 HR) has started at catcher in eight of the last 10 games.

You thought there couldn’t possibly be more new everyday players for me to review, right? Wrong. Here are four more.

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It’s time to get back to reviewing the latest crop of new everyday players! It’s been just over a week since my las review, which is far too long. So let’s find out if any of these new faces are worthy of rostering.

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Last week, I reviewed the five fantasy relevant hitters most underperforming their xwOBA marks. Now let’s flip over to the overperformers.

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Round 1 | Round 2

Have you ever been to a circus or county fair, and they have that game where random people hit a spot with a sledgehammer and try to ring the bell at the top? With enough force, it can be done, but contestants must be strong! The game, according to Wikipedia is called the high striker. You can hear the game being played from afar, a crack of a hammer, a crowd cheering, and every once in a while, a bell ringing. You can hear the shouts too, “Step right up, step right up! See if you have the strength to ring the bell! You sir! You look like a strong man who can impress all these people. Just five bucks a whack! Step right up and show us how strong you really are!”

Part of the reason this is so fun and entertaining is because it’s one of those cases where all else really is equal. In baseball, that rarely, if ever, truly happens. Take for example two hitters who have struck the same pitch type with the same launch angle. How would you determine which one was hit harder?

What other information would you like? The count? The pitcher? Whether or not runners were on base? Now, we’re adding in variation. We’re giving one person in our analogy a heavier hammer or maybe one of our contestants is somehow stronger when other people are watching. Ok, enough with the analogy, let’s add some variation to our baseball data points:

As we know, these two batted balls are not, could not be totally equal. They were in different cities with different weather scenarios with different pitchers with different runners on base. Both, however, did leave the yard for home runs:

Player A – Oneil Cruz – Video Link – 113.9 MPH

Player B – Yordan Alvarez – Video Link – 114.6 MPH

So, what makes these two batted balls unique? Well, a lot actually. But, hit an in-the-zone pitch that hard and it’s going to go a long way. It just all depends on how hard you can swing the hammer. Without further ado, let’s play another round of, “Who Hit It Harder!”

Who Hit It Harder? – Round 2

3-2 count, sinkers in statcast gameday zone 8.

In this exercise, I’ll give you three batted balls under somewhat similar conditions and your job is to determine which batter hit the ball harder. Here are our hitters along with some data points:

Here are three heavy hitters who have stepped up to the plate and worked their way into a full count. A sinker, low in the zone comes at them and they each put the ball in play. There’s not a whole lot of differentiation here. Santander certainly had a faster pitch to hit, but both he and Acuña benefited from a righty-lefty matchup. Here’s some more information for you to use to determine who hit it harder:

If you use HardHit% to simply help you decide then you can just play the percentages and choose Ronald Acuña. But, what about that perfect combination of exit velocity and launch angle? Percentages tell you that Hiura finds the sweet spot more often, but that’s misleading because he’s only had 156 plate appearances. So, what do we do? How about adding in, probably the most important metric to putting this puzzle together, launch angle:

Remember that what we’re after is exit velocity. We know that each of these hitters can hit the ball hard, but under these conditions, who hit it harder? We can probably assume that Acuña’s ball goes into the ground. Does a sinker hit into the ground have a lower EV than one that is put in the air? How does the pitcher influence your decision?:

Here’s one graph that will show you it’s really anybody’s guess. Balls can usually be hit with high exit velocity despite the launch angle, but typically balls hit straight into the ground, angles of -40 or below, have a hard time getting above 100 MPH.

Now, it’s time to guess. Decide which hitter had the higher EV and cross your fingers. Want to see for yourself? Here are the links to each individual at-bat.

Keston Hiura video

Ronald Acuña Jr. video

Anthony Santander video

ANSWER:

It may seem strange to have a groundball single take the cake by only .4 MPH. But if this were a leaderboard, Santander would be on top. It goes to show that a high exit velocity doesn’t always translate to a home run. But, exit velocity and launch angle together do. When a sinker low in the zone just doesn’t sink enough, it can go a long way. However, these three outcomes show us that context is key. A ball hit with a proper angle and force can make good things happen. But, that’s also why a sinker, low in the zone in a 3-2 count can make a monster hitter like Ronald Acuña Jr. head back to the dugout. Now, we just need to get him, Santander, and Hiura to swing by the high striker the next time the circus is in town.