Belli Eilish
Cody Bellinger (NYY): 3-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI.
Another Friday, another hat trick. This week, it’s Cody Bellinger, en route to one of his best seasons since his 2019 MVP campaign. Belli got progressively hotter as the night went on, with his trio of home runs clocking in at 101.7, 102.0, and 102.9 mph.
Yankee Stadium has been good to Belli as his 89.4 mph average exit velocity, 110.2 mph maximum exit velocity, and 41.4% HardHit rate are all the highest marks he’s put up in a 162-game season since 2019. This has allowed him to be downright elite at home with 12 home runs, five steals, a .324/.366/.591 triple slash and 163 wRC+ in the Bronx.
The approach has been solid, too, so this isn’t just a power surge. A 14.4% strikeout rate is a career-low for Bellinger and is backed by a career-low 8.3% swinging strike rate and a career-high 82.9% contact rate. The decision value is a bit lacking, but his Contact+ and Power+ are both surging with his new approach.
The 29-year-old outfielder- yes, he’s still only 29!– has been one of the best outfielders in baseball as he surges back to stardom in New York City. I’ll call you when the party’s over.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday:
Sean Murphy (ATL): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
We may have forgotten just how good Sean Murphy is at baseball. Between a career-low 2024 season that saw him battling with an elbow injury, starting 2025 with a rib injury, and the emergence of Drake Baldwin, Sean Murphy is far too readily available on waiver wires right now. Last night, he opened up the scoring with a 107.3 mph, 437-foot bomb in the first inning and followed it up with a 108.9 mph, 440-foot bomb in the third. Murphy’s 123 Power+ ranks 26th in baseball this season, and his 90.1 average exit velocity, 16.9% barrel rate, and 45.2% hard hit rate are all elite clips as well.
Recently, Murphy has moved into the cleanup spot and is seeing time at DH when Baldwin is behind the plate. Given Atlanta’s dire need for offense, they’ll keep him in the lineup as much as possible right now. Go get this forgotten superstar now and thank me later.
Wyatt Langford (TEX): 4-5, HR, R, 2 RBI, SB.
Wyatt Langford has had an up-and-down start to 2025, but recently he’s been on a heater. Last night’s “Combo Meal” marked his second homer and third steal of July, alongside a .385/.484/.654/1.138 slashline and 219 wRC+. Given his .291 BABIP this season, Langford was due for some course correction. The underlying metrics are all still above-average to elite with a 91.1 mph average exit velocity, 12.7% barrel rate, 47.5% hard hit rate, 25.0% chase rate, and 28.9 ft/s sprint speed.
Even young superstars take time to develop. Be patient with Langford; the ceiling is too high to miss out on.
Noelvi Marte (CIN): 2-3, 2B, HR, R, RBI.
Noelvi Marte has missed most of the 2025 season with an oblique strain, but has looked sharp since coming off the IL last week. Now healthy, Marte has put up two homers, a .300/.348/.650/.998 slashline, and most importantly, a 13.0% strikeout rate that has dropped his strikeout rate to 15.6% on the season. If he can maintain the 32.5% chase rate he’s managed of late, this could be a breakout campaign for Marte. With a 90.8 mph average exit velocity and 29.2 ft/s sprint speed, Marte has an elite power/speed combo worth keeping an eye on in the second half.
Zach McKinstry (DET): 1-2, RBI, BB, 2 SB.
Zach McKinstry’s pair of steals last night put him up to 15 on the season, his third consecutive season of 15+ stolen bases. 2025 has been good to McKinstry, though, in large part due to his performance at home. That’s right, McKinstry has hit better in Comerica Park than on the road with a 0.56 BB/K, .340/.421/.574/.995 slashline, and 178 wRC+.
McKinstry has just figured out how to hit in Detroit in a way that nobody else has, as evidenced by his 100th percentile Launch Angle Sweet Spot rate. He doesn’t make hard contact, but he hits the ball exactly where it needs to go, and his 28.2 ft/s sprint speed does the rest on the basepaths.
Luis Robert Jr. (CHW): 2-7, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
Since the second half of last season, Luis Robert Jr. has struggled to stay above the Mendoza Line. His 34 stolen bases over that span are genuinely quite impressive when you consider they came with a .201/.265/.312/.577 slashline and 61 wRC+ in 545 plate appearances. It’s easy to blame the Chicago White Sox organization and a slew of injuries for Robert’s decline since his 38-home run 2023 season; those are clearly major factors. However, Robert isn’t without blame either. His 35.1% chase rate and 18.0% swinging strike rate over the last year or so are fueled by a swing-happy 71.2% F-Strike rate that ranks second in the league during this period.
An escape to Los Angeles or New York City at the trade deadline won’t cause an overnight turnaround here. There are major flaws in Robert’s approach that will take time and likely a demotion to fix. At 27 years old, he’s hardly a lost cause, but I’ve yet to see signs to be optimistic that a second-half outburst is on the horizon.
Andrew Vaughn (MIL): 1-4, HR, R, RBI.
Speaking of escaping the White Sox, many of us have long wondered what Andrew Vaughn would look like outside of the Chicago White Sox organization, and the wait is finally over. After being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Aaron Civale, Vaughn spent 16 games with the Nashville Sounds in Triple-A, going .259/.338/.500 with three homers and 16 RBI. With Rhys Hoskins hitting the IL with a sprained thumb last week, Vaughn was called up for his Brewers debut and has impressed.
In four games since his call-up, the former third overall pick has gone 4-for-10 with two homers and six RBI while walking as much as he has struck out. With a 34.8% chase rate, let’s be wary not to overreact too quickly to Vaughn’s success, but given his pedigree, it’s certainly worth a stash in deeper leagues and monitoring where Vaughn goes from here.
Hyeseong Kim (LAD): 3-4, R, 2 SB.
Hyeseong Kim is being slept on this season. Last night was Kim’s 23rd and 24th stolen bases of the year between Triple-A (13) and the majors (11). His 28.8 ft/s sprint speed is good for the 87th percentile, and Kim has a legitimate hit tool too, with a .349/.389/.481 triple slash so far in the big leagues.
Now, playing time will be difficult to come by as the Los Angeles Dodgers are intent on easing the young star into a full-time role. Kim only has 113 plate appearances this season, and the Dodgers’ inevitable trade deadline additions will only serve to complicate matters further for Kim. At the end of the day, talent always rises to the top, however, and Kim has no lack of talent.
Jake Mangum (TBR): 2-4, R, BB, SB.
Jake Mangum has a very similar skill set to Kim, but trades a bit of ceiling for more playing time. Mangum clocks in at an identical 28.8 ft/s sprint speed with 222 plate appearances this season and a regular spot in the Tampa Bay Rays outfield. However, his incredibly lucky 123 Pitch Runs score and a 41.9% chase rate have me skeptical that Mangum can maintain his .313 batting average moving forward.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR): 2-4, R, BB, SB.
Congratulations to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on his 1,000th career hit last night. We don’t have to spend a lot of time on this one, but as our resident Toronto Blue Jays fan, I just had to mention such a career milestone.
