Between A Rooker And A Hard Place

With all of the young star power that has entered the Athletics lineup over the past couple of years, it can be easy to forget how good Brent Rooker is. When Rooker gets hot, the mound can be a scary place to be and Astros relievers succumbed to that fear on Sunday afternoon. After the A’s blew a two-run lead in the seventh inning, Rooker grabbed the lead right back with a two-run blast in the bottom half of the inning. Houston then rallied to tie the game in the eighth and briefly took a one-run lead in the top of the tenth. Rooker responded by smashing a three-run HR off top Astros reliever Bryan Abreu to walk the game off, finishing the day 2-for-4 with his first two HRs of the season and six RBI.

Rooker has reached the 30 HR plateau in three consecutive seasons and while his batting average dropped from .293 to .262 last season, presumably due to a significant drop in BABIP luck (.362 to .302), the 31-year old made huge strides once again in cutting down strikeouts (32.7% in 2023; 28.8% in 2024; 22.2% in 2025). The young studs in the A’s lineup will make the team a fun watch in 2026, but let’s not forget that Rooker is still the heart and soul of the team.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did on Sunday:

 

Oneil Cruz (PIT): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

Look out world, Oneil Cruz is suddenly a dominant hitter against left-handed pitching. After blasting a 415-foot, two-run HR off Cade Povich on Sunday, Cruz is now hitting .636/.636/1.455 with three HRs and six RBI in eleven at-bats against southpaws, with just one strikeout. If the Pirates are going to return to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, Cruz is going to have to fulfill some of the incredible potential he has shown over the years. After nine games, the 27-year-old has shown massive improvements against lefties and the optimism in Pittsburgh is officially at an all-time high.

 

Ryan O’Hearn (PIT): 3-4, HR, 2B, R, 4 RBI.

No player in the Pittsburgh lineup has been as clutch as Ryan O’Hearn so far in 2026 and he continued his hot start on Sunday, hitting a two-run first inning HR off Orioles’ starter Chris Bassitt. He added a two-run opposite field double one inning later and O’Hearn is now hitting .367/.459/.700 with three HRs and eleven RBI on the early season.

 

Manny Machado (SD): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

Manny Machado came up with the big hit in the Padres comeback win over the Red Sox on Sunday, hitting a three-run HR in the top of the fifth inning to give San Diego a 6-4 lead. The 33-year-old may not be the most exciting offensive player in the league but he is a lock for a .275 average and close to 30 HRs, and that will play everywhere.

 

Jackson Merrill (SD): 3-5, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.

Jackson Merrill came up with the other big hit in the Padres win, smashing a solo HR in the eighth inning to put San Diego back on top, 7-6. After a Rookie of the Year-caliber first season in San Diego at the age of 21 (.292/.326/.500 with 24 HRs and 16 SBs), Merrill took a step back in 2025 that was partially caused by injuries. San Diego will need Merrill to return to his rookie form this season to compete with the Dodgers and so far he has done a good job of providing big hits in the middle of the lineup.

 

William Contreras (MIL): 2-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.

With all of the exciting young offensive-minded catchers scattered amongst the MLB, William Contreras continues to reign supreme as one of the best in the league. The 28-year-old continued his nice start to 2026 by getting on base four times on Sunday, and his line is up to .267/.405/.500 through eight games.

 

Mickey Moniak (COL): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Mickey Moniak didn’t take long to acclimate himself back into the game after his brief stint on the IL, smashing his first two HRs in the Rockies 4-1 win over Philadelphia, the team that drafted him number one overall in 2016. His second HR went a whopping 437 feet and if Moniak can replicate his .270/.306/.518, 24 HR campaign from last season, we might have to start considering that 2025 was not a fluke and Moniak’s offensive prowess should be taken seriously.

 

Drake Baldwin (ATL): 3-5, HR, R, 4 RBI.

Look out William Contreras, because Drake Baldwin is coming for that top catcher spot in the National League. The 2025 Rookie of the Year continued his scorching start to 2026, hitting his fourth HR in the first inning to give Atlanta an early lead. The 25-year-old has been incredible to start the season and Braves fans should be very excited for what they have behind the plate.

 

Yordan Alvarez (HOU): 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.

I know that injuries were a big reason people were scared to draft Yordan Alvarez early in fantasy drafts, but man this guy is simply one of the best hitters in the game when healthy. After hitting his fourth HR off Athletics starter Jacob Lopez, Alvarez is now hitting .400/.578/.900 on the early season and looks every bit his old self.

 

Nick Kurtz (ATH): 2-3, 2B, R, 3 BB, SB.

If you drafted Nick Kurtz in fantasy drafts you certainly expected him to have at least one HR at this point, but the 23-year-old is making some positive adjustments through the struggles. He got the bat going a little bit on Sunday and added three walks, showing he can have a positive impact at the plate without hitting the ball out of the yard. Kurtz even added his second stolen base and has already equaled his total from 2025.