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Byron Buxton (MIN): 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Byron Buxton continued his May trend of obliterating baseballs last night. Payton Tolle had the upper hand in the first inning vs Buxton, getting him to chase a 98 MPH four-seamer way up and out of the zone. In the second, though, Buxton came up to bat with the bases loaded and one out. Buxton smoked a line drive off the glove of a leaping Caleb Durbin for an RBI single to pull the Twins back within 1 run. After another Tolle strikeout, this time watching in the fourth inning, Buxton got his first opportunity against the Red Sox bullpen in the 7th inning. With a runner on first and one out, Buxton faced Justin Slaten and contributed to the Red Sox reliever’s 28.6% HR/FB rate. Buxton got a 92 MPH cutter up and away and turned on it, sending it way over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne St.

Buxton’s strong game was but one of many this season. His season line stands at .264/.322/.588, but he’s really been on a tear in May. Since May 1st, Buxton is hitting .288/.354/.763 with 8 homers and 3 steals in just 14 games. It hasn’t all been perfect for Buxton this year, though. His swing speed is down about 1.3 MPH, and he’s had his lowest average exit velocity since 2018. He’s compensated by lifting the ball even more than usual, setting a new career-high average launch angle of 24.5 degrees. He’s hitting nearly 74% of his balls in the air, and 32.3% in the air to the pull side (5th in MLB), including two of his three batted balls last night.

Combine Buxton’s extreme lift-and-pull approach with his 19th percentile chase rate and 13th percentile whiff rate, and you start to get the image of a low-average slugger. Buxton’s still barreling the ball at a 98th percentile rate and has maintained his elite sprint speed in the 97th percentile, but he’s swinging and missing at the second-highest rate of his career. That being said, in his most whiff-prone season, Buxton still ended up with a .279 batting average thanks to his mammoth power and a .338 BABIP. This year, his BABIP is actually below his career .302 rate, sitting at .274. I’m not too concerned, but given how often he’s hitting fly balls and the slip in his exit velocities, it’s easy to see how he could wind up with a BABIP similar to the .244 and .253 BABIPs he posted in 2022 and 2023. He’s one of the most fun players in the sport to watch and a star when he’s healthy, but there’s probably a tinge more batting average risk here than you might expect at first glance.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday…

 

Zach Neto (LAA): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Is Zach Neto the next candidate for the Tungsten Arm O’Doyle meme? He had 3 hard-hit balls last night, including two solo home runs at 108.6 and 109.6 MPH. His first homer was on Jacob DeGrom’s first pitch of the game, a 97 MPH four-seamer that could not have caught any more of the plate. Neto also reached on a hit-by-pitch in the fourth from Cal Quantrill, as the Angels had already chased DeGrom with 6 earned through 3 innings. I take it back – the Angels lose in the meme, and after triple-checking, they beat DeGrom and the Rangers 9-6 in this one.

William Contreras (MIL): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

Contreras and the Brewers jumped all over Justin Wrobleski in this one, scoring all five of their runs in the first two innings. After singles by Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang to open the game, Contreras pulled a low-and-in slider from Wrobleski to left for a 410-foot, three-run homer. Contreras added line drive singles in the second, scoring on an Andrew Vaughn double, and in the 7th. The story of this one was the Brewers’ defense, though, as Logan Henderson and three relievers kept the Dodgers to a single unearned run.

Jackson Holliday (BAL): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

Maybe Holliday was fired up by watching the newest middle infield sensation, Kevin McGonigle, hit a leadoff home run against his team. Holliday struck out in the first, but rifled a single to right off Jack Flaherty in his second at-bat. Returning to the plate the next inning, Holliday got a 91 MPH four-seamer from Flaherty up and over the middle of the plate. He went the other way, perhaps winning the award for least excess distance on a homer possible. Holliday’s homer went straight down the left field line, somehow landing between the wall and the foul pole. It would have only left 12 parks and had an expected average of .070 (not adjusted for spray angle), but it counts all the same.

Pete Alonso (BAL): 1-3, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB.

Alonso’s homer was a no-doubter. Coming to the plate in the third inning in a two-on, two-out situation, Alonso chased a 93 MPH fastball that Flaherty had put well outside the strike zone. It turned out to be a good idea, though, as Alonso took it the other way at 104.4 MPH for his 10th home run of the season. Alonso tacked on a fourth RBI on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning on a ball he hit 101.1 MPH. He also got robbed by an excellent Zach McKinstry diving catch in right field on a line drive he hit 101.8 MPH. Alonso’s bat has fully woken up in May, posting a .276/.321/.579 line after a .198/.306/.362 March and April.

Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC): 1-2, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.

PCA deserves a shout-out for drawing two walks against Astros pitching without striking out. This was the first time since June 3rd, 2025, that PCA has walked two or more times in a game. PCA’s homer came in a left-on-left situation vs Steven Okert in the sixth inning. Okert threw a 78 MPH breaking ball low in the zone that PCA turned on and sent out to right at 104.7 MPH. After struggling against lefties thus far in his career (75 wRC+ vs lefties, 106 wRC+ vs righties), PCA has reversed his splits over the first third of the season (129 wRC+ vs lefties, 77 wRC+ vs righties). Despite his excellent game, the Cubs dropped this one 4-2 after wasting a bases-loaded, no-out third inning caused by Spencer Arrighetti walking one and hitting two batters.

Esteury Ruiz (MIA): 2-3, 2B, 3B, 2 R, SB.

Esteury Ruiz has returned to the majors, and you know that if there’s any team he’d put up multiple extra-base hits against, it’s the 2026 Mets. Joking aside, Ruiz is actually running a .297 ISO in what can only be described as small sample absurdity. Ruiz doubled in his first at-bat on a sharply hit, 103.2 MPH line drive to center that chased Tobias Myers. Ruiz, being Ruiz, immediately took advantage of lefty Sean Manaea and stole third before scoring on a softly hit Owen Caissie grounder to first when the Mets had the infield in. Ruiz later lifted an 88.5 MPH fly ball down the right field line that Carson Benge nearly got to with a sliding attempt, earning Ruiz a stand-up triple. Caissie brought him home again, this time on a single up the middle, as Ruiz’s two runs were enough for the Marlins to beat the Mets 2-1.

Oswald Peraza (LAA): 3-4, HR, R, RBI.

Peraza set his career high in homers with his sixth of the year last night. After singling in the first and fifth innings on soft-hit liners, Peraza golfed a 95 MPH four-seamer at the bottom of the zone into the Angels’ bullpen in left. Peraza’s bat speed, average exit velocity, and hard hit percentage are all down vs last year, but he’s hitting the ball in the air more. The combination has been effective for him. His xwOBA on contact is .382, up from .318 last year. He’s also dramatically cut his strikeout rate from last year’s 30.2% to a very solid 23.6% this season.

Hunter Goodman (COL): 2-4, R, BB, 2 SB.

It’s hard to believe that Hunter Goodman, catcher, stole two bases in this one off Gabriel Moreno, who generally gets a decent grade for his arm. Moreno has conceded 75.8% of attempted steals since 2024, though, and Goodman has a 57th percentile sprint speed. Goodman had a long flyout in the first on a ball he hit 101 MPH, a ball that would have left 17 of 30 MLB stadiums. The remainder of Goodman’s batted balls were more softly hit, but he added two singles and a walk to go with a groundout. Goodman also added an extra base on a passed ball by Moreno, as the Rockies came from behind to beat the Diamondbacks 3-2.

Gunnar Henderson (BAL): 3-5, 2B, 2 R.

Henderson doubled in the first inning on a 110 MPH line drive to right field. He had the misfortune of smoking a 101.8 MPH ground ball for a fielder’s choice in his next at-bat, and struck out in his third at-bat of the night. His final two plate appearances both went for singles, one a softly hit chopper to short and the other a solid line drive single to center. While Henderson cut his strikeouts in May, he’s also walking less and making softer contact, leading to a disappointing 70 wRC+ for the month. He’s lost a bit of bat speed relative to his previous three years, but Henderson’s still swinging the bat significantly harder than the MLB average. His xwOBA on contact is down another 15 points after a 48-point drop last year, though, and his average exit velocity is now just a bit above MLB average.

Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)