A PCA PSA

 

Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC): 3-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, 2 SB.

This is an urgent public service announcement regarding Cubs centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong: buy stock now! The 23-year-old former top prospect now has two HRs and six hits in his last two games and looks to be in the midst of a very real breakout. After a slow start, PCA is now up to five HRs after hitting just 10 in 410 plate appearances in 2024, and he is tied for second in baseball with 10 SBs. While his speed makes him dangerous on any batted ball, Crow-Armstrong is hitting the ball harder and on the ground less in 2025. Justin Turner is currently struggling in the third spot in the lineup, and I think it is about time that PCA got bumped up from his current seventh spot.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Wednesday:

 

Aaron Judge (NYY): 2-4, 3B, R, RBI, BB.

The AL MVP favorite, Aaron Judge, has a five-game hitting streak and is hitting .415/.513/.734 on the young season after a two-hit game that included a near HR that he legged into a triple. Judge doesn’t even have a HR during his hitting streak, and it hasn’t mattered. The man is the best hitter in baseball.

 

Austin Wynns (CIN): 3-4, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI.

You may not be familiar with Reds backup catcher Austin Wynns, but he just put together a two-game stretch for the ages. Between Sunday’s 24-2 win and yesterday’s 5-2 victory, Wynns had nine hits in 11 ABs, including two HRs and eight RBI. That is a heck of a week, let alone back-to-back games.

 

Justyn-Henry Malloy (DET): 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Tigers leadoff man Justyn-Henry Malloy hit his first HR of 2025 in the fifth inning of the Tigers’ 6-0 win on Wednesday. Detroit is hoping the 25-year-old can regain his 2023 form when he hit 23 HRs in Triple-A. JHM struggled with strikeouts during his MLB debut last season, and it resulted in a .203/.291/.366 line with just eight HRs. Malloy is going to have to pick it up if he doesn’t want to be relegated to the bench when Parker Meadows eventually returns.

 

Eli White (ATL): 1-3, HR, R, 3 RBI.

With injuries, suspensions, and poor performance plaguing the Braves’ lineup, an unsung hero stepped up and delivered in a big way on Wednesday. With one out in the eighth inning of a tie ballgame, Eli White smashed a 434-foot three-run missile for his first HR of the season to power Atlanta to a 4-1 win over St. Louis. A true AAAA player with no more than 220 plate appearances in an MLB season since his debut in 2020, White will need more moments like yesterday’s to maintain a roster spot once the Braves get healthy and rolling.

J.P. Crawford (SEA): 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB.

J.P. Crawford finally got off the schneid Wednesday when he hit his first HR of 2025, a three-run shot off Red Sox lefty Sean Newcomb in the fourth inning of Seattle’s 8-5 win. Crawford’s 19 HR season of 2023 seems more like an aberration at this point, and I wouldn’t expect that kind of power out of the 30-year-old SS. He has shown more discipline at the plate this season with as many walks as strikeouts, after having nearly double as many whiffs as free passes in 2024.

 

Teoscar Hernández (LAD): 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.

Teoscar Hernández continues to get big hits for the Dodgers, as he gave the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead with a two-run single in the third inning and followed it up with a two-run HR to again give them the lead in the fifth. While Los Angeles would lose the game, Hernandez has been mashing the ball with a .258 ISO, which would be his best mark since the shortened 2020 season. While he could stand to raise his 3.2 BB%, Hernandez has truly stood out as a force in a lineup full of them in 2025.

 

Christian Walker (HOU): 2-4, HR, R, RBI.

After a miserable start to the season, Christian Walker is starting to turn things around with five hits in his last two games and two HRs in his last four. An oblique injury coupled with new surroundings certainly contributed to the 34-year-old’s struggles, and good on those who didn’t panic. This is a man who has averaged 32 HRs and a 120 wRC+ over the last three seasons. He is gonna be just fine in Houston.

 

Corbin Carroll (ARI): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.

Walker’s former teammate, Corbin Carroll, clearly put in the work this offseason to quiet the doubters after his struggles in 2024. He is third in baseball now with nine HRs and is even outhitting his 2023 Rookie of the Year campaign with a .327/.404/.693 line. The stolen bases are a little down, but for those of you who were able to steal Carroll in the third round or later of drafts, good on you.

 

Kameron Misner (TB): 3-5, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI.

The Rays just seem to be one of those teams that consistently gets production out of random players, and they have another one so far with OF Kameron Misner. The 27-year-old did put up 17 HRs and 30 SBs in Triple-A last season, but the reason he is hitting .373/.409/.678 in 59 ABs at the major league level this season is that he has cut his strikeout rate nearly in half in 2025. Unfortunately for Tampa, I don’t see this continuing, and Misner will certainly regress quite a bit as the season rolls on.

 

Oneil Cruz (PIT): 2-5, HR, R, RBI, SB.

If you didn’t see Oneil Cruz’s HR last night, go watch, because OHHHH BOYYYY did he get a hold of that one. The 463-foot blast had an exit velocity of 116.6 mph and was the fourth-longest HR ball hit in 2025. Cruz now has 6 HRs on the year and 11 SBs after swiping another one Wednesday. The All-Star Game awaits.

 

Shea Langeliers (OAK): 4-4, 2B, R, RBI.

Known for selling out for power, Shea Langeliers put on a master class of hitting on Wednesday, going 4-for-4 with three singles and a double. The 27-year-old has really made strides to refine his approach at the plate, raising his BB% from 7.7 to 10.1 and decimating his K% from 27.2 to 13.5. If he can continue improving as an all-around hitter, look out, because that power isn’t going anywhere.