Rocchio Drift
Well, that was a double-header to remember for Brayan Rocchio.
The Guardians’ shortstop was the hero of the first game. His Cleveland squad went down early, as the Tigers had six runs through the first three innings while the Guardians could only get one. This quickly changed in the fourth, however, as following a hit parade, Rocchio went up with the bases loaded and no outs and hit a grand slam to tie the game. This is the kind of moment some players wait their entire careers for, but for Rocchio, it wasn’t even the biggest swing of the game. When he got up in the ninth inning, he was able to smack his second home run of the day to break the tie and walk the Tigers off. He finished with a statline of 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.
But wait, Rocchio wasn’t quite done yet. The Guards and Tigers had another game lined up, one in which you can argue Rocchio was again the team’s MVP. While he grounded into a fielder’s choice in the tenth inning to remove the ghost runner, he made up for it by stealing second and third base, which allowed the Guardians to again walk it off. He had the winning run in each game of the doubleheader. He also had a walk and a single in the second game, just for good measure.
Rocchio isn’t really a fantasy-relevant player, as his OPS is below .700 and he really only helps in the stolen-base department; even with those, he doesn’t have numbers that pop off the page. Especially with the offense around him being not particularly great,
Brayan Rocchio (CLE): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday…
Max Clark (DET): 3-4, 2 RBI, SB.
Clark has been dynamite since being called up by the Tigers, hitting .275/.342/.450 for a wRC+ of 119 across 122 plate appearances. A lot was made about his defense in Spring Training and after a few gaffes when he was brought in, but the numbers say he’s good in that department as well. Clark has a great combination of contact skills and raw power. He often hits the ball hard with an ideal launch angle, which is conducive to plenty of extra-base hits. He has quite a few doubles already and a couple of triples, which is great to see as some players take a while to get their first three-base hit.
Alec Bohm (PHI): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.
The end result for his team wasn’t what he wanted, but Alec Bohm had a pretty great game yesterday. He had two extra-base hits, one being a two-out solo home run and the other a double that drove in a run. The ironic thing is that his double was hit nearly 25 feet farther than the homer, but hey, that’s ballpark dimensions. Bohm’s season has been pretty unfortunate, as he had a really rough start but has taken control of his game in the second half. He’s gone from a fantasy bust to a player that is rostered in quite a few leagues. He’s always had okay underlying numbers
Mauricio Dubón (ATL): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Dubon? More like Dubonds. Since coming to Atlanta, he’s done pretty much what’s expected of him. He’s able to fill in at plenty of positions, though he’s mostly been the shortstop for the A. This season represents his highest career home run total, as his 11th yesterday surpassed his mark from 2023, his first full campaign with the Astros. Dubon is kind of your standard put the ball in play a ton hitter. He doesn’t walk much and doesn’t have a ton of bat speed, but his ability to miss the strikeout does raise his floor a fair bit. He’s not a player you’re going to hold on your fantasy teams, but he’s not the worst player to have in deeper leagues, especially when he’s hot.
Mickey Gasper (BOS): 2-4, HR, R, RBI.
The Mickey Gasper run continues, as he accounted for the lone run in a tough and gritty win against the Orioles. Since the All-Star break, Gasper has a near-300 wRC+, and many are jokingly comparing him to Barry Bonds. Of course, there are plenty of elements that scream this is a fluke, mainly his history and the fact that he doesn’t have any exceptional skills in a particular area of hitting, but we’ve seen runs like this before that ended somewhat successfully, like Matt Carpenter with the Yankees, for example.
Rafael Devers (SFG): 3-4, 2 2B, HR, R, 5 RBI, BB.
Holy moly. Rafael Devers has turned his season around, but it’s not just a “he’s come back after a difficult start” year; it’s simply just an overall strong campaign. He had three hits yesterday, and all three were for extra bases, including a home run. He knocked in five, and even added on a walk for good measure. He now has 33 home runs this season, and all talk of San Francisco not being able to have 30-homer hitters is completely dead, as while the curse was broken last season, it really does not appear that it will be returning as long as Devers is in the orange and black.
Francisco Alvarez (NYM): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Unfortunately for Devers, he wasn’t the only player to go nuclear in the high-scoring Mets/Giants matchup. Alvarez actually was able to get the upper hand with not one, but two home runs. Both of these were crushed and would be home runs in 28 out of 30 MLB ballparks. Alvarez isn’t quite what he was expected to be as a prospect, though that can be partially attributed to the plethora of injuries he’s faced. Still, he’s a great power-hitting option behind the dish when on the field who now has his career high in home runs.
Bo Bichette (NYM): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.
Bichette is another player who has kind of, sort of, turned it around. He hasn’t been amazing, but he’s been a solid ballplayer after getting an awful slump out of the way. It’s good to see him hitting home runs and taking walks, as those are both things that there was concern he was losing his ability to do (though he’s never been one to get the free pass very often). Bichette is realistically closer to the player he’s been in the second half than the first, as he has a solid floor that is built upon a foundation of great contact skills.
Eugenio Suárez (CIN): 1-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
I’m sure this was a satisfying game for Suárez, who was placed on waivers last week by the Reds and went unclaimed. It’s been that kind of season for him, coming off of one split between the Diamondbacks and Mariners that saw him hit nearly 50 home runs. It’s kind of surprising he struggled so much in an environment like Cincinnati, especially as he found a ton of success there in the past. He’s just a streaky guy on a year-to-year basis.
Cooper Pratt (MIL): 1-4, 3B, R, 4 RBI, BB, SB.
Pratt had a very fun statline yesterday, as while he only had one hit, he was able to drive in four runs. He grounded out but picked up an RBI in that at-bat, and then his next time up tripled to drive in the three hitters on base. He walked later in the game and stole a base, just to make fantasy managers happy. Pratt hasn’t been spectacular to open his career, but he’s definitely been solid. He’d probably get more attention if it weren’t for rookies these days looking so good right out of the gate.
Elias Díaz (TEX): 1-3, HR, R, 5 RBI.
It’s funny when the most clutch player in a game is on the losing side. The Rays were steamrolling the Rangers following a double parade that put them up 6-1. It seemed like the game was a foregone conclusion until the bases were loaded and Elias Díaz was up to bat. He smoked a shot off the bat deep into left-center field to put his squad within one run. The Rays answered with a run of their own, but Diaz was able to get another run in with a deep sacrifice fly to the same part of the ballpark. Diaz, of course, isn’t really a fantasy viable catcher, but hey, this was a great game for the few who roster him.
