Downtown Cabby
José Caballero (NYY): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
We had ourselves a pretty good pitcher’s duel at Tropicana Field last night. Griffin Jax had a perfecto going, but his control suddenly abandoned him in the fifth when he issued a pair of one-out free passes to Domínguez and Chisholm. Hitting seventh, Caballero stepped to the plate next and seemed, based on his 91 wRC+ and 26 home runs across 1,407 career PAs, an unlikely candidate to break the game open. Nevertheless, if you happened to be listening to the ballgame on WFAN 660, you might have heard Yankee play-by-play announcer Dave Sims mention that Caballero put on a show during batting practice, moments before he sent a changeup from Jax on a 395-foot flight to deep left.
Cabby torched his former team again in the eighth with a solo shot against righty reliever Chris Roycroft. He finished the night 2-for-3, giving the Yankees a much-needed win after being swept in the Bronx by the Tigers for the first time since 2008. It also gave Caballero a career-high ten home runs; he hit half as many last season across 370 PAs, about 100 more than he has had this year. Regardless, his .249/ .304/ .407 slash doesn’t exactly stand out from the crowd.
Much has been made about the Yankees looking lethargic lately, particularly on defense. However, they have struggled offensively, too; since No.99 went on the IL on June 2nd, they rank 22nd in baseball in runs scored while mustering an 87 wRC+ as a team. Make no mistake: Caballero isn’t the magic answer to a pinstriped resurgence. Regardless, the debate over who should be the starting shortstop remains a heated topic in Yankee land. Anthony Volpe, who didn’t start last night’s game, has managed just one home run across 147 PAs this year. At the very least, Volpe has managed a career-high .342 OBP this season. But otherwise, his offensive profile remains uninspiring.
Perhaps contrary to popular belief, I don’t think there’s a clear-cut answer after you grade Volpe’s defensive contributions (he grades well according to Baseball Savant’s Outs Above Average). In the meantime, Caballero, for fantasy purposes, at least, remains a valuable asset thanks to his speed; his 20 stolen bases are tied with Konnor Griffin for ninth in baseball. And, yeah, the unexpected home runs are a nice touch, too.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:
Tyler Tolbert (KCR): 5-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI.
Yeah, it was not Cristopher Sánchez’s best day in the office. Tolbert hit seventh and picked up two hits against the ace left-hander, including a line drive that split the gap in left-center for an RBI double in the third. Lefty reliever Tanner Banks served up Tolbert’s first longball of the year in the fifth, putting the Royals ahead 10-1. Three innings later, Tolber became the first Royal since Hunter Dozier four years ago to bag five hits, with a single to left on a lollipop lobbed by Philadelphia’s backup catcher, Garrett Stubbs. Sure, why not? In case you are wondering, the 28-year-old righty hit .260 with an 80 wRC+ across 86 PAs with Triple-A Omaha before being promoted on May 22nd. Enjoy your birthday party.
James Wood (WSN): 1-2, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 3 BB, SB.
Oh, look, another beautiful game from Wood. The grand salami came in the fifth with the Nationals ahead 8-6. Part of you almost has to feel bad for Astros reliever AJ Blubaugh, no? What was he supposed to do?! Well, he tried an 0-1 fastball at the letters on the outer third, and Wood parked it about 446 feet just to the left of the curly W in straightaway center. With 24 dingers, he is tied with Matt Olson for seventh on the leaderboard. He leads the majors with 81 runs scored; Alvarez is second with 62. And Wood’s .939 OPS is tied with Ohtani for third. That’ll do. Not to be outdone, Abrams also contributed to last night’s 12-11 win with a combo meal of his own.
Heliot Ramos (SFG): 3-5, 3B, 2 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI.
Fantasy managers who scooped Ramos for the three-game series in Colorado this past weekend were disappointed; he finished 3-for-13 with just one run scored. Nonetheless, he started last night’s blowout against the Jays by taking Gausman for a ride to Oracle’s alley in right-center before scoring on an errant relay throw from Giménez. His two home runs came against righty Tommy Nance (349 feet, 99.1 EV) and lefty Adam Macko (434 feet, 109.6 EV). The monster night raised the 26-year-old’s OPS to what would be a career-best .806. Even better, he did this as San Francisco’s leadoff hitter against a righty. I have a hunch we might see that again.
Yainer Diaz (HOU): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Last night’s matchup against Miles Mikolas and Mike Burrows in D.C. felt like batting practice waiting to happen, and that’s exactly what we got. With two down and one on in the third, Diaz deposited a belt-high sinker from Mikolas into the left-field seats (389 feet, 102.9 EV), giving the Astros a 6-1 lead. He added a ground-ball single to center three innings later. Diaz has gone yard in each of his last two starts, but poor swing decisions (83 DV and .267 OBP) make him a difficult player to roster.
Carson Benge (NYM): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.
Benge saw his stay as the Mets’ leadoff hitter end on July 3rd in favor of fellow rookie, A.J. Ewing. Regardless, he started the scoring in Atlanta last night by taking ReyLo for a ride to left-center (397 feet, 102.4 EV); the second-inning oppo-taco was his 11th of the season. The 23-year-old lefty has also stolen 11 bases on 13 attempts while slashing .258/ .316/ .405 across 361 PAs.
Geraldo Perdomo (ARI): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB.
Perdomo capped Buehler’s second consecutive rough outing by golfing a 2-2 changeup into the seats; the wallscraper (377 feet, 97.8 EV) gave the Snakes a 7-0 lead in the fourth. The 26-year-old switch-hitter has remained a decent contributor in points leagues, thanks to his 12.6% K rate and 14.3% BB rate. His 14 steals are just about halfway to matching last year’s total. However, last season’s 20 home runs have increasingly seemed like a mirage, with him going yard just five times across 365 PAs.
Cole Carrigg (COL): 3-5, 2 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI.
Can you believe it? The Rockies lost to the Dodgers. Again. Well, they can’t blame their switch-hitting rookie, that’s for sure. Facing Dodger closer Tanner Scott with the bases juiced and two down, Carrigg smacked a 2-1 slider to the warning track in right-center for a game-tying, two-run double. The third-year man out of San Diego State hit fifth last night (lefty Lauer started for the Dodgers) and is slashing .309/ .385/ .593 with four home runs and two stolen bases across just under 100 PAs since his debut on June 9th.
Dalton Rushing (LAD): 3-5, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI.
Hitting ninth, Rushing’s night began by banging a pair of doubles off Kyle Freeland; the second nearly left the yard, a 372-foot poke to right. He struck out in the ninth with the winning run on second, but got the job done two innings later, when he smacked a changeup from Jimmy Herget just past the drawn-in second baseman Edouard Julien. The 25-year-old lefty is slashing .269/ .347/ .503 with 10 home runs across 193 PAs. Smith (neck), meanwhile, remains without a clear return date.
Matt Olson (ATL): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
Olson led off the third by depositing a changeup thrown by Freddy Peralta into the Chop House in right (403 feet, 105.5 EV), giving the Braves a 3-1 advantage. He tormented Devin Williams six innings later with a long flyball that landed in the Mets’ bullpen in left for a game-tying, two-run home run (379 feet, 100.4 EV). The 32-year-old slugger’s .890 OPS is four points behind Harper for 14th in baseball. And with 24 home runs, he is just five away from matching his total in each of the past two seasons.
Garrett Mitchell (MIL): 2-3, R, BB.
Mitchell has extraordinary talent, combining 97th-percentile sprint speed and bat speed. But whiffs remain an issue, with his strikeout rate this season standing at 33.6%. Still, he is having a breakout campaign of sorts, slashing .269/ .364/ .461 with eight home runs and six stolen bases across a career-best 284 PAs. The Brewers often platoon him against left-handers, but he has been a decent option in deep daily lineup leagues.
Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on Bluesky)
