Ivan The Great

Iván Herrera (STL): 3-4, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI, BB.

Do the Cardinals have their successor to Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina? 25-year-old Iván Herrera certainly had his “Welcome to the Show” moment on Wednesday when he blasted three home runs in helping St. Louis get to 4-2 with a 12-5 blowout of the Angels. All three shots had an exit velocity of over 100 mph, culminating with an eighth-inning three-run bomb that traveled 425 feet.

Herrera acquitted himself nicely to the big leagues in 2024, batting .301/.372/.428 in 259 plate appearances with a very respectable 9.7% BB% and 20.5% K%. The righty always posted good BB/K numbers in the minors and his best season power-wise came in 2021 when he hit 17 HRs in 437 plate appearances in Double-A. The future looks bright for the Cardinals behind the plate after this historic performance from Herrera and I would certainly be taking a chance on him in fantasy leagues.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Wednesday:

 

Logan O’Hoppe (LAA): 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.

Logan O’Hoppe couldn’t match his backstop counterpart, but he did provide the Angels with a grand slam in the seventh inning off Sonny Gray that actually gave Los Angeles a brief 5-3 lead. O’Hoppe went a little under the radar in fantasy drafts, as most managers elected for Oakland’s Shea Langeliers when targeting power out of the catcher position. We know he will strike out a lot, but with two HRs already this season, O’Hoppe looks poised to eclipse his 20 HR total from last season and could even sniff the 25-30 HR range which is extremely valuable from a fantasy catcher.

 

Jackson Chourio (MIL): 3-5, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Budding superstar Jackson Chourio has bounced back from his platinum sombrero Opening Day and he had his best game of the season with three hits off Kansas City on Wednesday. He started off the game with a first-inning HR off Royals ace Cole Ragans and added a 10th-inning RBI double that tied the game for Milwaukee. The heavy strikeouts are worrisome but let’s not forget he had just a 21.1% K% at age 20 last season. Don’t fret, Chourio is still the stud you drafted him to be.

 

Oneil Cruz (PIT): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, SB.

The lone bright star in the dark night sky that is the Pirates lineup, Oneil Cruz is off to an excellent start to the 2025 season. He singled and stole his sixth base in the first inning and hit a towering HR off Ryan Pepiot in the fifth to the opposite field. He has now stolen 27 consecutive bases without getting caught and the way the Pirates have been running to start the season, he could easily reach 40 swipes. His walk rate is up to 20%, his strikeout rate is down to 23.3%, and the breakout many predicted for Oneil Cruz this season looks to be coming to fruition.

 

Seiya Suzuki (CHC): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, BB.

If it weren’t for Iván Herrera’s career day, Seiya Suzuki would have been the player of the day after he smashed two HRs and totaled 5 RBIs in the Cubs 10-2 rout of the Athletics. He is now tied for the league lead in RBI with 11 and Suzuki looks like he is taking full advantage of having newly acquired superstar Kyle Tucker (who also has 11 RBI) hitting behind him.

Jackson Merrill (SD): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.

How would you respond to getting a nine-year, $135 million extension? Padres OF Jackson Merrill decided to do so by going 2-for-4 with a two-run HR to raise his line on the young season to .417/.444/.708. You just have to love the way the 22-year-old approaches the game and I think Padres fans and baseball fans alike are looking forward to what he will be bringing to the diamond day in and day out for the next decade.

 

Luis Matos (SF): 2-3, HR, R, RBI, BB.

Overshadowed by Heliot Ramos‘ breakout season for San Francisco in 2024, Luis Matos is looking to cement himself as a part of the Giants’ OF in 2025 and Wednesday’s performance was a nice step in the right direction. The 23-year-old has solid power in his bat and has always posted low strikeout numbers, including a 15.4% K% in 156 plate appearances at the major league level in 2024. Keep an eye on Matos going forward as he could be a valuable addition to your fantasy team down the road.

 

Pete Alonso (NYM): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.

The Polar Bear saved the Mets’ season with a big HR in the 2024 playoffs and he saved the Mets from a bad series loss to Miami when he hit a two-strike, two-out, three-run HR to tie the game in the top of the eighth inning on Wednesday. After signing a two-year, $54 million contract to stay in New York in the offseason, Alonso is off to an excellent start to the season batting behind newly acquired Juan Soto and the Mets are going to need his power in the middle of that lineup if they want to overtake the Dodgers in the NL in 2025.

 

Byron Buxton (MIN): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Byron Buxton hit his first HR of the season on Wednesday, a 446-foot blast off White Sox starter Sean Burke. While it is great to see Buxton hitting the ball well, personally all I want to see from the 31-year-old this season is simply his name on the lineup card. The tantalizing OF hasn’t played more than 102 games since 2017 and I’m worried we will never get to see his true potential realized. I personally have a lot of shares of Buxton in fantasy this season and it would be so nice to see him play in 125-140 games for the Twins in 2025.

 

Trevor Story (BOS): 3-4, HR, R, RBI.

Speaking of oft-injured former superstars, we have not seen Trevor Story play more than 94 games since signing with the Red Sox in 2022 and it was nice to see him go 3-for-4 with a HR yesterday against the Orioles. If you drafted Story in your fantasy league, kudos to you because we really had no idea what we were going to get. He was an automatic 30/20 guy during his prime seasons with Colorado, but honestly, I would settle for 15/15 and a healthy season from the 32-year-old in 2025.

 

Michael Conforto (LAD): 2-2, HR, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB.

Shohei Ohtani stole the show with a walk-off HR to propel the Dodgers to an incredible 8-0 record, but Michael Conforto had himself an excellent day at the plate in the cleanup spot for Los Angeles. The 32-year-old OF has almost been forgotten since his days with the Mets, but let’s not forget he hit 33 HRs in 2019. The Braves could not get Conforto out on Wednesday and he is now batting .368/.500/.737 on the young season. Conforto provides you with cheap access to the middle of the best lineup in baseball and if he is still on the waiver wire in your fantasy league, I wouldn’t hesitate to go scoop him up.