All About the Bux
Byron Buxton (MIN): 4-5, 2 HR, 4 R, 2 RBI.
Buxton entered Minnesota’s series against Boston slashing just .182/.258/.273 with a 52 wRC+. He went 2-for-5 with a home run on Monday and doubled his luck yesterday, launching multiple home runs over 400 FT a piece.
Buxton absolutely shredded ex-teammate Sonny Gray, tallying three hits off the 36-year-old righty in just four innings. He smacked an 84.7 EV single in the first, followed by a 108 EV / 401 FT longball in the third, and then a 96.8 EV single in the fourth. He then greeted rookie Jack Anderson — making his MLB debut — with a 107.9 EV / 438 FT home run in the sixth.
He featured lightning-fast bat speed, never posting a bat speed below 76 mph, and both of his home runs were gone in all 30 ballparks. What’s even crazier? Despite Buxton entering the series with a 52 wRC+, two games in, that mark is up to 114.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:
JJ Wetherholt (STL): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Wetherholt was dominant against two Cleveland standouts yesterday. His first home run came against lefty Joey Cantillo — a 106.4 EV / 396 FT shot that was gone in 29 of 30 ballparks. Later in the game, he’d go deep against another intriguing southpaw in Eric Sabrowski — a longball that traveled just 366 FT and registered a 99 EV. Both home runs came off the first pitch against the left-handers. He entered yesterday’s action with a measly 83 wRC+… that mark has increased to 109 entering play today.
Hunter Goodman (COL): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Yes, another two-homer day! Goodman was a breakout fantasy backstop last season, mashing (easily) a career-best 31 HR while posting an .843 OPS and 118 wRC+. He launched a monster 108.2 EV / 377 FT homer in the first inning off Colton Gordon, and later added a 102.4 EV / 396 FT bomb against AJ Blubaugh in the fifth. Despite his slow start (just a 3% barrel rate entering play yesterday), Goodman brought his OPS up to an .808 mark on the year.
Edmundo Sosa (PHI): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Sosa, 30, has quietly put together a relatively effective career after joining the Phillies, turning in a wRC+ over 100 throughout the past two seasons. He’s on pace to do that a third time, especially after mashing two extra-base hits yesterday. He launched a 105.7 EV / 442 FT home run in the second inning against Colin Rea and later added a 90.7 EV double versus Jacob Webb in the eighth. His homer traveled the second-furthest among all batted ball events yesterday. His .296 xBA and .350 xwOBA are positive signs of what may be to come in 2026…
Christian Walker (HOU): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Walker, 35, posted his worst wRC+ (99) since 2021 in his first season with the Astros last season. He’s made it a mission to not let that happen again, and it’s shown early — the first baseman has posted a monster .594 SLG and 175 wRC+ through 72 plate appearances to start 2026. Yesterday, Walker took Michael Lorenzen deep — a 106.2 EV / 422 FT shot — and later smacked two singles in the fifth and seventh innings. They registered 87 and 112.2 exit velocities, respectively, both against FA-types over 96 mph and eclipsing .500 xBA’s.
Ben Williamson (TBR): 2-3, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
Williamson welcomed rookie southpaw Noah Schultz to the majors with a 97.5 EV double in the third inning. He also added a 107 EV two-base knock in the seventh against Brandon Eisert. Williamson, 25, posted a 76 wRC+ with Seattle last year but is already in line to surpass that number, owning a 101 wRC+ heading into play today.
CJ Abrams (WSN): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Abrams has been beyond exceptional to start the season — he’s slashing .356/.426/.695 with a monster 207 wRC+, keeping his K% under 15% and increasing his BB% over 3 points. His offensive rating on FanGraphs was at 7.2 yesterday… that mark would already quite comfortably be the second-best of his career. Abrams tallied a 93.5 EV single and 102.7 EV home run against starter Mitch Keller, plus later added a 98.4 EV double against Isaac Mattson.
Oswald Peraza (LAA): 3-3, HR, R, RBI, BB.
Peraza turned in a lights-out performance against his former team, producing hits in all three of his at-bats, leading the Angels to a modest victory over New York. All three of his knocks registered exit velocities over 100 mph — a 110.1 EV single, 107.4 EV home run, and 105 EV single. Perhaps this game could jumpstart his season (slashed just .214/.267/.405 prior to yesterday’s action).
Dominic Smith (ATL): 3-4, 2B, 4 RBI.
Sleepy Dom has already had his fair share of big moments with the Braves and we’re not even 25 games into the season. Yesterday, Smith lined multiple singles (96.6 and 99.7 exit velocities, respectively), and later smacked a 99.3 EV double off Pete Fairbanks in the eighth. Smith, 30, broke out with the Red Sox in 2024, posted his best wRC+ (111) since 2020 with the Giants last year, and is en route to blow that mark out of the water in 2026.
Brice Turang (MIL): 3-6, 2 R, RBI, SB.
Turang, 26, is off to a sizzling-hot start to the year with Milwaukee. He turned in a .298/.411/.617 slash line fueled by a .413 xwOBA. His 190 wRC+, 11% barrel rate, and 93 average EV (among other things) are in line to be career-highs. Turang lined three singles of 90+ mph yesterday against the Blue Jays — 93.7, 98.5, and 104.3 EVs, respectively. Over his past two games, Turang has amassed a whopping six hits in 10 ABs. Two games! He looks to add a fifth multi-hit game to his resume in 2026 today…
