Rebel Yelich

Christian Yelich (MIL): 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

It might have been cold in San Francisco last night, but Yelich heated things up. During an eight-run barrage in the sixth inning, the Brewers’ slugger clubbed a low fastball over the centerfield wall for a Grand Slam, and added a double with another run scored.

So far this season, Yelich has been both good and bad—he’s already got five homers and five steals, and with last night’s 4 RBIs is on a pace to bring home well over 100 runs (which he hasn’t done since 2018). But, he’s hitting only .222 with a career-high Whiff Rate of 35.5% and a career-low Barrel Rate of 5.7% (even with last night’s homer).

Yelich’s early struggles have mainly come off lefties, where he’s only batted .148 with 11 K’s in 27 at-bats. Historically, he’s had pretty even splits against them, so if he can right the ship there his average should shoot back up. He did bat .315 last year in his abbreviated, 73-game season.

Of course, injuries have been the main thing with Yelich, his lingering back issues the reason his draft stock sat around pick 100 though he could still max out at a 25-homer, 40-steal season. But he’s looking good for now and once he fixes his southpaw issues, he’ll be a stud.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday

Will Smith (LAD): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.

In a 21-run game between the Cubs and Dodgers, Will Smith socked a homer and nearly missed a second one with a double off the wall. Over the last two seasons, Smith has combined for a .255 batting average and 39 homers—good but not great, which given his lofty draft position has disappointed owners. But he’s rewarding them in 2025, batting .345 with a 1.004 OPS and four round-trippers (he’s even chipped in a steal in the early going, the 11th of his career).

Part of what limits his ceiling is playing time. Smith has hovered around 130 games historically, as the Dodgers’ lineup is simply too crowded for him to DH (they have a guy named Ohtani for that).  So far, though, Smith has appeared in 20 of the Dodgers’ 24 games, so he might have a slight uptick in plate appearances this year. The Catcher position has been surprisingly strong to open the season (see Raleigh, Cal) but Smith is showing he still belongs in the upper tier, even without the DH at-bat’s other top catchers get.

 

Aaron Judge (NYY): 4-4, 2B, R, SB.

Sometimes games where Judge doesn’t homer are still impressive. In his first at-bat (following a Ben Rice leadoff homer), Judge took an outside-corner fastball the opposite way for a single. He’d do the exact same thing in his next appearance, only the ball was a little off the plate this time. Opening up the sixth inning, Judge then pulled a double on a 2-0 count for his third hit of the game (all of Tanner Bibee). He’d pull a single in his fourth at-bat, this time off Hunter Gaddis, and steal his third bag in a tight game. Judge has 39th-percentile speed but swiped ten bags last year—add that to what could be a Triple Crown season, and he’s the top overall fantasy player.

 

Kyle Tucker (CHC): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB.

Another first round pick who is destroying baseballs, Tucker is Judge’s biggest rival for fantasy POY (and a guy named Tatis), and has powered the Cubs to a top-3 team offense. Tucker struggled mightily in the Spring, and his draft stock dropped a couple places because of it, but that feels like a distant memory. Like Yelich, Tucker missed a lot of time but he is showing why he could be the National League’s overall best player. If Judge could win the Triple Crown in the AL, Tucker could do the same for the NL.

 

Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

The breakout is here for PCA, who continues to improve in every facet of the game.  A freak speedster, Crow-Armstrong stretched a blooper into a double in his first at-bat, part of a five-run first inning off Dustin May. Then, facing May for the third time in the fifth, he took advantage of a fastball right down Broadway and popped it into the right-center bleachers. Crow-Armstrong’s hitting metrics might look mediocre, but he’s gotten better in every category, including Average EV, Bat Speed, and Whiff Rate. He’s pacing for a 15-30 season with room for more, and the way the Cubs lineup is turning over, he might net 100 runs.

 

Tommy Edman (LAD): 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.

And Edman’s power surge continues. He turned on a Shota Imanaga fastball and gave it a 417-foot ride for his eighth homer of the season. He’s now tied for the National League lead in dingers, and the St. Louis Cardinals be shaking their heads.  Edman only had 153 plate appearances in 2024 due to a right wrist sprain, but managed six homers and six steals in 35 games.  Looking at this year’s metrics compared to last, he’s a completely different player: a 12.0% barrel rate (twice his career average), a 90.7 mph exit velocity (3.1 mph better than last year), and a .298 xBA (24 points higher than his career best).

 

Marcus Semien (TEX): 2-3, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB.

After his first twenty games resulted in a .141 batting average and .408 OPS, the Rangers dropped Semien out of the leadoff spot for the first time. That might have been the wake-up call he needed. Batting fifth in the Athletics’ AAA stadium, Semien jacked a ball over the left-center field and ended up driving in four. Semien’s biggest selling point (especially in Points Leagues) has been his league-leading volume of plate appearances, so we’ll need to see if this lineup change sticks. Still, it’s good to see some signs of life here—his age is catching up with him, but there’s nowhere to go but up.

 

Dylan Crews (WSN): 1-3, HR, R, RBI.

2023’s second overall draft pick was also off to a dismal start in 2025, going 0-for-22 in his first five games with 12 K’s.  Even worse, he only walked once.  As of April 5th, his OPS was .117, and he had a single steal. No wonder the Nats had moved him to the bottom of the lineup.

Now, though, Crews seems more in control. In his last seven games, he’s raking with a .333 batting average and has three steals. He’s climbing up in the batting order, too, hitting fifth or sixth. He should continue to see his .189 average rise significantly—he’s got a .287 xBA, 82nd percentile—and he’s already socked seven barrels. He might have his slumps, but he’s a future star.

 

Agustín Ramírez (MIA): 3-3, 2 2B, RBI, BB.

In his second game in the Show, the Goose batted cleanup for the offensively-impaired Marlins, and already looks like their best hitter. He laced his second and third doubles of the season in just eight total at-bats, one at 106.4 mph and the other at 111.2. Looking over his scouting report, Ramirez logged three years in the Yankees’ Rookie Ball system before breaking out in 2023.  He was traded for Jazz Chisholm last year and went 20-20 between stints in AA and AAA. It’s hard to say how many steals Ramirez might be good for, but he did try to swipe third in this one (he was thrown out). As for his bat, he’s showing great pull-side power and hasn’t whiffed much. The only issue? He’s a below-average catcher defensively, which might limit his playing time, though he can play first and/or DH. Keep an eye on him.

 

Gunnar Henderson (BAL): 0-4.

Sidelined with an intercostal strain to open the season, Gunnar has yet to get it going, but there are some positive signs here. Though he went 0-for-4 and the O’s couldn’t make anything happen against Mitchell Parker, the Baltimore slugger at least looks healthy and is hitting the ball harder than ever with a one-hundredth-percentile Average Exit Velocity (97.6 mph) and Hard Hit Rate (64.9%). Where he’s struggling is in the swing and miss category, with a 33.3% K-Rate that’s nearly 10% above his career average, and a 5% walk rate that’s half his average. Sometimes you just need the reps, and Gunnar will be fine once he gets his.