Release the Drake-n
Think back to a time a couple of months ago. Early May, to be specific. The flowers were blooming, the butterflies were flying, and the Major League Baseball season was still in its infancy. Now think of what your answer would be if you were asked who the best fantasy catcher was at that point in time. You probably, no definitely, would’ve said Drake Baldwin. Today, however, he certainly wouldn’t be in the conversation.
It’s been kind of a strange season for Baldwin. He injured his oblique in mid-May and came back a month later. He then played some absolutely putrid baseball, striking out at a rate we’d never seen from him. His wRC+ in June (which, to be fair, was only 12 games) was -44. Perhaps the more shocking stat was his 44% strikeout rate, which is surprising for a player who had only a 15% K rate as a rookie. The dream year turned into a nightmare, and now he’s looking to turn it around alongside his Atlanta team that is rapidly conceding the division lead. While his numbers in July don’t pop off the page, his strikeout rate is below 10%, so that’s something.
Games like these are the perfect way to bounce back. Baldwin was dominant, driving in five runs, three of which came in on a 419-foot home run. Baldwin has some excellent batted ball data, including an xWOBA that is 35 points higher than his wOBA. He hits the ball hard and off the sweet spot of the bat, which you can see in games like these. I think that we will see more of this from Baldwin, and he will finish the season as a top-50 player. He’s too good to continue slumping like this, even if he was brought back too quickly from the injured list. Baldwin finished the game with a statline of 3-4, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, BB.
Drake Baldwin (ATL): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, BB.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday…
Andrés Chaparro (WSN): 4-5, HR, 3 R, 8 RBI.
Yeah, we very well could have featured Chaparro as well, as he had probably the best game of any player yesterday. The Nationals destroyed the Athletics at their extremely hitter-friendly ballpark, and Chaparro led the way. This game led to one of the most insane jumps in wRC+ I’ve ever seen, with Chaparro going from 72 across 65 plate appearances all the way up to 115 across 70. Chaparro has never been a big-league regular, but he has solid discipline and raw bat speed. Maybe this game is him putting it all together?
Carlos Narváez (BOS): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
The Red Sox offense teed off in their series against the Rays, and Carlos Narváez was definitely their star in their first game. He plated three of their runs and came home twice himself, off the back of a no-doubt 412-foot, 107 mph home run in the seventh inning. Narvaez is unlikely to have many other games like this, as his poor numbers show that he isn’t fantasy relevant even in fairly deep leagues. It’s not like he’s been a driving force behind the Red Sox’s recent success either, as his wRC+ over the past couple of months has been in the negative column. Oh well, it’s fun to celebrate a superstar game from a player who you never expect one from.
Masataka Yoshida (BOS): 3-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, RBI.
You know how I mentioned Narvaez hitting that no-doubter home run? Well, Masataka Yoshida hit a homer that was pretty much the opposite. Its exit velocity was a measly 87 mph, flying 323 feet out of the park. This is only a home run in two ballparks, but hey, at least they’re both in the American League East, where Yoshida plays. He also hit a double off the bat at an impressive 43.9 mph, the lowest exit velocity double of the season. Criticism aside, I feel like Yoshida is going to have a solid second half. He makes a ton of contact, and if he remains healthy, he could definitely consistently get on base. He squares up the baseball more than nearly every other hitter in MLB and rarely strikes out. It’s lots of contact and good contact, and the Red Sox players hitting around him are also hitting well, finally.
Wilyer Abreu (BOS): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Wilyer Abreu is one of those players who, I swear, always performs when it’s my turn to write the hitter recap. He is a really solid hitter, which is probably part of it. While OPS is a stat that doesn’t tell the whole story, I love how consistent his OPS marks have been over the past three years. .781 in 2024, .786 in 2025, and now .782 in 2026. It’s interesting, as his batted-ball profile has changed a bit over the years. His bat speed and average exit velocity are the lowest marks of his career this season, yet he has also cut down the whiffs and strikeouts, showcasing more contact ability. Abreu’s home runs in the second game yesterday were nearly both no-doubters, with his first one not counting at Oracle Park.
Colson Montgomery (CHW): 2-4, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
It feels like Colson Montgomery is somewhat getting lost in all the hype around the White Sox’s young talent. It makes sense, considering how his teammates are playing out of their minds. Montgomery has really struggled in the ratio department, as his batting average is hovering above .220 and his on-base is just a smidge above .300. Most of his value comes from home runs, given his incredible bat speed and extreme pulled flyball profile. This game wasn’t very Montgomery-like, but it worked. He hit a slow single in the second and a double that wasn’t super hard hit (still 100 mph) in the fifth. He also walked, which isn’t super common for him. The White Sox are constantly blowing out teams, and it seems that it rotates which player is leading the way.
Matt Olson (ATL): 2-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB.
Let’s go back to Atlanta to celebrate Mr. Consistent. Matt Olson is almost too good. We look at a game like this and think meh. This would be one of the games of the season for many other hitters, as Olson hit an absolute no-doubter of a home run and added a couple of walks to bring up his on-base percentage. Olson’s walk rate is down a bit this season overall, so the two free passes are a nice touch. Olson now has 26 home runs on the season, and he’s done so quietly. He’s only three off his totals in each of the last two seasons, and he definitely is going to do it. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him hit around 45 home runs, especially as he’s been selling out for power a bit more recently.
Elly De La Cruz (CIN): 4-5, HR, 2 R, RBI.
Elly De La Cruz has been on fire in July, and it feels like few people are talking about how awesome a season he’s been having. As of yesterday, he has a wRC+ of 131, which would be the highest mark in a season if he were to keep the pace. He isn’t quite stealing at the pace that we have seen in the past, but he also seems set to break his single-season home run record, so that makes up for it. He’s an elite player who helps you in a bunch of categories and is even more valuable in real life than in fantasy. What’s not to love about the big guy?
Carter Jensen (KCR): 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB.
Huh? HUUUUUH? That was one of the craziest endings to a game this season. The Padres were down to their last men and tied up the game with a Ty France solo shot. The Royals then loaded the bases, which included a Carter Jensen double that sent Isaac Collins to third. The Royals weren’t able to convert even with no outs, which sent the teams to extra innings. The Padres miraculously plated three runs, and it looked over. Then, the miraculous happened. The Royals loaded the bases again and scored four, with Jensen’s groundball single winning his team the game. Jensen is one of the better hitting catcher prospects to come along in some time, as there was an argument to be made that he was the best prospect, period, entering the season. He has still shown some growing pains here, but games like yesterday’s perfectly encapsulate what he can bring to a team.
Joey Ortiz (MIL): 2-4, HR, R, RBI, SB.
It’s kind of sad that Joey Ortiz hasn’t quite worked out for the Brewers, as he feels like such a Brewers player and had an excellent start for them when they first acquired him in 2024. He put up a combo meal yesterday, though, which definitely counts for something. Ortiz isn’t a player you can expect to hit home runs often, as his quality of contact has been awful, though somewhat better than last season. Since he hits at the back of the lineup, he really isn’t a player worth chasing, even in deep leagues.
Harry Ford (WSN): 2-5, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB.
That’s the first big-league home run for Harry Ford, the former top prospect and Great Britain catcher. Here’s to many more. This was his first game of the season, as he previously had an eight-game cup of coffee with the Mariners. He struck out in his first at-bat, but was able to adjust and walked his next time up. Walking is a major component of Ford’s game, as he had a 17.5% walk rate in Triple-A this season. He then hit a home run into deep center field, and Statcast still has not said how far it was hit. He finished his game with a single off position player Carlos Cortes, bringing in two more runs to get his team to 20. It’ll be interesting to see if Ford can ride this wave and prove himself in the big leagues.
