Edouard Knock Life
Edouard Julien (MIN): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Edouard Julien had an underrated rookie season in 2023. He played just 109 games but worked out of a platoon into an everyday role with a line of .263/.381/.459 and 16 home runs. His 31% strikeout rate was an area of concern and while little has changed in that area through the first month of 2024, there’s no reason to think he can’t improve quickly. His K% was in the low 20s during his minor league career and he has a remarkably keen eye at the plate. His 14.3% chase rate led all major league players last year and is among the best again this season at 14.6%. And Julien makes his selective approach pay off with a high walk rate, 90th-percentile barrel rate, and well-above-average exit velocities. So, it’s not hard to imagine the upside.
Some of that is coming to fruition already. He clocked two home runs Thursday to bring his total up to seven, which leads all second basemen. The first was a 412-foot opposite field missle in the sixth inning (104.9 EV). Michael Soroka missed badly on a 91 mph fastball and there was no doubt where the ball was headed off Julien’s bat.
His second homer an inning later was a lot less of a sure thing. Julien went opposite field again on a 378-foot flyball (102.7 mph) that somehow found the fence. That hit even confused White Sox pitcher John Brebbia who provided a great meme face after Julien got well under a high fastball only to see the flyball keep carrying out and away. You don’t see many homers on a 40-degree launch angle.
Julien is slashing just .213/.308/.513 so far this season, but fewer strikeouts and a bit more luck (.227 BABIP) could shoot him up the rankings in a hurry.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday
José Ramírez (CLE): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB.
Fantasy owners have been waiting for the true Ramirez to stand up. He hasn’t been having a bad season by any means, but Thursday was the breakout game that reminded us why we drafted the Guardians’ slugger so high in the first place. Every at-bat was something special. He hit a 107.8 EV, 384-ft home run in the second inning to drive in three. His two other hits both had EVs over 100 mph and his lone out was a hard 99.5 mph flyball. Ramirez has been pressing at the plate a bit too much—career lows in chase rate (37%) and walk rate (1.9%)—but this is still a very strong bat.
William Contreras (MIL): 2-4, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB, SB.
What a beautiful shot by Contreras in the first inning—a solo home run in the game’s second at-bat. He pulled a 93 mph sinker that was low and inside and it left the park in a hurry (114.4 mph, 448 feet). He added a 108.4 mph single in the fifth and a third-inning walk. It was his 12th multi-hit game of the season, improving his slash to .365/.446/.573. His 94.9 average EV this season is sixth in the majors and his 60% hard-hit rate is fifth.
Jurickson Profar (SDP): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
Profar enjoyed the thin air in the Mile High City. Four games in Colorado resulted in a .889 OPS and .384 wOBA. He had no trouble with a 97 mph fastball in the seventh inning, driving the pitch 405 feet in the leftfield seats (101 EV). He was on base three times, including a walk and 92.3 EV single. Profar has struggled with poor quality of contact throughout his career, but his .389 wOBA, 90.3 average EV, and 41.4% hard-hit rate this season are all career highs.
Brenton Doyle (COL): 3-4, 3 R, RBI, BB, 2 SB.
Somehow this guy is still flying under the radar. Doyle added three more hits Thursday—all singles—to bring his slash line up to .330/.371/.527 with three home runs, 16 runs, eight RBI, and four stolen bases. Two of his hits left the bat at over 100 mph, improving his hard-hit rate to 45%. He also walked and stole two bases. With a 30% strikeout rate and .450 BABIP, there is certainly some regression heading his way, but Doyle possesses a strong power-speed blend and is one of the better centerfielders in the league, so his role is secure. He’s worth adding if he’s available. On Yahoo, he is just 17% rostered.
Bryce Harper (PHI): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
Congratulations to Harper and his wife, Kayla, on the birth of their third child. After missing three games to be with his family, Harper returned Thursday and got right back into the swing of things. He had a two-run home run in the second inning (384 ft, 101.4 EV) to extend the Philly lead to 4-0. That wasn’t even his hardest hit of the night. He clobbered a 112 mph grounder to the shortstop gap where Jeimer Candelario was knocked completely off his feet trying to corral the ball. There wasn’t even a play at second for Trea Turner.
Salvador Perez (KCR): 1-2, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Perez drove in two runs with his seventh homer of the season Thursday which proved to be the difference in a rain-shortened game. José Berríos hung an 82 mph slurve over the center of the plate and Perez took advantage by sending it 404 feet with an EV of 109.4 mph. Perez has been absolutely crushing the ball in April, slashing .352/.410/.626 with 25 RBI and 12 runs in just 25 games. He leads all catchers in both home runs and RBI. He looks like his old self after a couple of down years. His average EV and hard-hit rate are his highest since his 48-homer campaign in 2021.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC): 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
PCA made his season debut (if you don’t count entering the game as a defensive replacement Wednesday) and celebrated with the first hit and first home run of his career. He took advantage of a 95 mph heater down the center of the plate and there was no doubt. The ball traveled 396 feet (107.2 mph EV) and drove in two runs to give the Cubs the lead. PCA was slashing just .203/.241/.633 in Triple-A and has struggled with strikeouts (he had two on Thursday), but his plus-plus defense gets him in the lineup and he has both the power and speed to be worth a speculative add.
Nathaniel Lowe (TEX): 1-4, HR, R, RBI.
Lowe had his first home run and RBI of the season since coming off the injured list this past Saturday. He went down in the zone to snag an 86 mph slider and just cleared the shallow bullpen fences 368 feet away in right centerfield—a spot that’s a home run in only six major league parks. We take those. Lowe has started all five games since his return, slashing .294/.400/.529 with two multi-hit games and three runs scored. He has moved up to third in the order the past two games, so expect the numbers to start piling up in this talented Texas lineup.