I’ll take 3 HR for 7 RBI, Alex
A slow start to the season had left Cubs fans wondering: who is Alex Bregman? Is he the consistent .800-ish OPS hitter with excellent defense at third base that the Astros and Red Sox had benefited from in recent years? Or is he rapidly aging, the victim of a further decline in his already below-average bat speed? Bregman answered those questions emphatically last night, torching Nationals pitching for a 3-3, 3 HR, 3 R, 7 RBI, 2 BB line.
Bregman started this game quietly, drawing walks in his first two plate appearances. After Nationals starter Jackson Kent left the game, though, Bregman feasted on the bullpen, homering off three of the four Nationals relievers who took the mound. As is typical of Bregman, who has a career max EV of 109.6 mph, none of his homers were mammoth blasts, each leaving the bat between 96.1 and 98.4 mph. Bregman is perhaps the world’s foremost practitioner of lift-and-pull hitting, though, and he did just that last night, depositing two homers into the Cubs’ bullpen in left field, and the third 5 rows into the stands further into left.
One game isn’t enough to completely remake a season line, but when it’s this good, it’s close. Bregman was hitting .251/.341/.388 entering play yesterday, good for a 105 wRC+. Bregman was already hitting .292 with a .348 OBP in the second half, but he’s now lifted those numbers to .313 and .387, respectively. His massive night improved his overall line to .256/.347/.412, adding 7 points of wRC+ in three hours and six minutes of play. Combined with his customarily excellent defense at third base, Bregman has now contributed 3.1 WAR to the Cubs through 118 games.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Wednesday…
Dansby Swanson (CHC): 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB.
Swanson also enjoyed his night against Nationals pitching. While Kent did manage to retire Swanson once on a 99 mph line drive, the Cubs’ shortstop took advantage of the bullpen. Swanson’s double left the bat at 104 mph, while his homer came on a sinker below the zone that he rocketed out to center at 106 mph. Swanson has settled in the last few years as a slightly below-average bat with outstanding defense at short, a combination of skills that’s worth 3-4 WAR per season.
Trent Grisham (NYY): 3-5, 2B, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI.
With Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Cody Bellinger all on the IL, the Yankees need Grisham to provide offense, and he stepped up last night. Last year looks like an outlier for Grisham’s power performance at this point, with his barrel rate regressing all the way back to his 9.8% career rate after his career-best 14.2% in 2025. Still, he reminded us of what he can do, touching up Miller and two relievers for three extra-base hits. Grisham benefited from the short right-field porch in Yankee Stadium, with both of his homers expected not to leave at least 8 MLB parks. He gets to hit there in half of his games, though, and they all count the same.
Spencer Jones (NYY): 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, SB.
We had a very classic Jones night last night, with Jones striking out, reaching base without swinging (this time via getting hit), and two rocketed doubles. Jones struck out swinging in the first inning on a 97 mph fastball that Bryce Miller dotted up and away. He didn’t miss the fastball in his next at-bat, crushing one that was on the edge of the zone low off the wall in left for a two-run double. He added another RBI double off Miller in his next at-bat, this time off the wall in right-center to tie the game. Jones has cut his strikeout rate to 25.4% in his most recent stint in the majors, which may portend improvements to his .218 batting average.
Griffin Conine (MIA): 2-2, 2B, HR, 3 R, RBI, 3 BB.
A perfect day at the plate for Conine, who has been hitting in the middle of the Marlins’ lineup vs righties. Neither of his hits was of the cheap variety, with his double being a line drive that came off the bat at 109.5 mph, and his homer exiting the field at 106.6 mph to straightaway center. Conine is on a tear in the second half, hitting .288/.381/.644 with 8 homers since the break.
Liam Hicks (TBR): 3-5, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Hicks hasn’t missed a beat since switching Florida coasts, with a .308/.438/.654 line in his first 8 games with the Rays. He had the good fortune of hitting in Sacramento yesterday, which includes an extremely hitter-friendly park and an extremely hitter-friendly opposing pitching staff. Hicks won’t wow anyone with Statcast measurables, but he made consistent hard contact yesterday, with his three hits exiting his bat at 100.3-101.1 mph. Hicks ranks well by our Decision Value metric, which measures how well a hitter chooses what to swing at, and he makes contact at an excellent rate when he does swing. He’s mostly been hitting 4th for the Rays and seems poised to keep rolling through the end of the season.
Austin Riley (ATL): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.
It’s been a rough go of things for Riley since a three-year peak from 2021-23, when he hit .286/.354/.525 and averaged 36 homers per season. His 2024 and 2025 seasons can be at least partially blamed on injuries, with Riley missing 50+ games in each of those seasons. He’s played in 120 games this year for the Braves, however, and his big night last night leaves his season line at .225/.299/.375. Last night’s outburst reminded us of what it looks like for Riley when it’s going well. His three hits left the bat between 105.2 and 110.4 mph. Everything went to the pull side, including his homer coming off a slider that hung up and away. Riley still swings the bat and hits the ball extremely hard, but with a strikeout rate that has crept over 30%, Statcast thinks he’s earned his line this year, and it’s hard to disagree.
Heriberto Hernández (MIA): 1-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Hernández continued his breakout by adding his 17th homer of the season against the Pirates. Hernández’s homer came on a middle-middle slider that he demolished, sending it out to left-center at 108 mph. He added two walks, coming around to score on one of them after a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch. Hernández has added a tick of bat speed this year, up to 74.7 mph. He’s had some bad batted-ball outcomes, but Statcast thinks he should have 20 more points of batting average, which would make his .225/.298/.454 line much more palatable to fantasy managers.
Zac Veen (COL): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Veen had two batted balls at 100+ mph last night, with the first being a flyout thanks to a 53-degree launch angle. The second one left the park for the Rockies’ rookie’s second career major league homer. Veen’s two-run homer was the ultimate difference in the game, as the Rockies beat the Diamondbacks 6-4. Veen has laid waste to Triple-A pitching this season, with a .327/.402/.635 line that is 42% better than the PCL average. With the Rockies moving Brenton Doyle, and moving on from Edouard Julien, Veen could be in line for regular at-bats down the stretch as the big side of a platoon with Jordan Beck.
Abimelec Ortiz (WSN): 1-2, HR, R, RBI.
Ortiz came off the bench in the Nats’ loss to the Cubs, but added his third homer in 27 major league plate appearances. Coming over from the Rangers in the MacKenzie Gore trade, the 24-year-old Ortiz is finally getting an opportunity to play at first base down the stretch. Ortiz has excellent power, hitting 61 homers over 330 games in Double-A and Triple-A since 2024. Through 49 swings at the major league level, Ortiz has well-above-average bat speed, swinging 76.4 mph. He’s also had very manageable strikeout rates in the minors, sitting around 22% in the Rangers’ system before improving to 19.5% this season.
Featured image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Bluesky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)
