Flair Jordans

Jordan Beck (COL): 2-3, HR, R, RBI.

Jordan Beck blasted his first career dinger, turning on a high and tight heater from Cole Ragans for a game-tying solo shot in the second inning of the first game of yesterday’s double dip against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The 110.8 EV definitely pops. And then the righty, who turned 24 this past Saturday, swatted another in the second game, this one coming against RHP Michael Lorenzen (398 feet, 100.7 EV).

Hey, how about that! He just hit another as I was writing this. The second in Game 2 came against lefty reliever Daniel Lynch, a solo shot to left on a 2-0 changeup (425 feet, 106.5 EV) that put the Rockies on the board in the sixth.

Beck demonstrated pop and speed in the minors last season with eight home runs and six stolen bases across 189 PA with Triple-A Albuquerque; he hit .319 with a .415 wOBA, 12.2% BB rate, and 23.3% K rate. Not bad. Although that’s the Pacific Coast League, so you have to take it with an even bigger grain of salt.

Chris Ballard wrote a bold prediction for Beck in February, pegging him for 20 homers and 20 stolen bases. However, he also noted that Beck struck out at a 35.3% clip during his 55-game audition in the majors last year. That’s been an issue for him in the minors, too; he posted a 64.4% contact rate in Double-A two years ago. Although he showed improvement last year, bumping his contact rate nearly six points during his stay in Triple-A with the Isotopes. Whether he can maintain those gains remains to be seen. If you’ve been playing fantasy baseball for more than a couple of years, you’ve likely learned that being burned by Rockies prospects is almost a rite of passage. Still, Beck seems like an intriguing dart to toss.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday:

Garrett Mitchell (MIL): 1-3, R, BB, 2 SB.

Mitchell drew a leadoff walk against Landen Roupp in the third and swiped second before scoring on a wild pitch. He stole another in the eighth after reaching on a two-out single off righty reliever Tyler Rogers. Mitchell demonstrated his wheels last year with 11 stolen bases in 69 games. However, his 31.7% K rate and suspect bat limited him to a part-time role, and that has been the case thus far; he entered yesterday’s game hitting .203 with a 32.9% K rate.

Mike Yastrzemski (SFG): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

Yastrzemski has been an early-season surprise; his .414 OBP ranks 12th, and his .949 OPS ranks 16th. He proved the difference yesterday, swatting a hanging changeup from righty Tobias Myers into Levi’s Landing (342 feet, 96.2 EV) for a game-tying homer in the third. He tied the game again in the eighth on a groundball to the right side of the infield; Tyler Fitzgerald beat the throw home. I’m tempted to ignore Yaz’s hot start, considering his career numbers. Still, he has shaved his K rate to 19.5%, down nearly seven points from last year, and is walking a lot more. Maybe there’s something to it.

Matt Chapman also homered for the Giants, taking righty Abner Uribe for a ride in the fifth.

Miguel Vargas (CHW): 1-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.

Vargas hit his first of the year, drilling a 97 mph heater from righty reliever Jorge Alcala in the seventh; the solo shot extended the White Sox’s lead to 3-0. Vargas posted an impressive .436 wOBA across 41 games with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate last season before being traded to Chicago. However, he flopped hard in the majors, hitting .157 with a .233 wOBA across 237 PA with the Dodgers and White Sox. It’s nearly impossible to have much optimism, but he should get at-bats at least.

Hunter Goodman (COL): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Goodman broke a 2-2 tie in Game 1 of the doubleheader, drilling a floating changeup from Cole Ragans to deep left for his fourth of the season (360 feet, 96 EV). He started the first game at catcher, giving him 13 starts behind the dish on the season; his other 10 starts have been as the DH. He’s hitting .237 with a .760 OPS. His 87th percentile bat speed backs his power. However, his chase and whiff rates point to a low batting average and OBP.

Logan O’Hoppe (LAA): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.

O’Hoppe went oppo, tagging a heater from righty Carmen Mlodzinski for a game-tying, two-run shot in the fourth (376 feet, 102.2 EV). He’s striking out a ton at 39.1%, up nearly ten ticks from last year. However, the sell-out approach is working thus far as he leads all qualified catchers (Carson Kelly and Sean Murphy don’t have enough ABs yet) with a .875 OPS.

Zach Neto swatted the go-ahead shot in the eighth, his second since returning from the IL, sparking the Halos to a 4-3 win over the Pirates.

Tim Tawa (ARI): 1-3, HR, R, RBI.

Garrett Hampson and Tim Tawa have been filling in for Ketel Marte. However, the latter has been infinitely more productive, hitting .250 with a 1.017 OPS. Drew Rasmussen had retired nine consecutive batters before surrendering Tawa’s fourth in the fifth, extending the D’Backs’ lead to 4-1 (385 feet, 101.1 EV). Tawa showed excellent pop in the minors last season, slugging ten longballs across 157 PA with Triple-A Reno while hitting .304 with a .417 wOBA, 20.4% K rate, and 8.3% BB rate. Marte’s return isn’t imminent; he just started a running program, so there’s still time for Tawa to do more damage.

Christopher Morel (TBR): 2-5, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Morel went yard on a changeup from righty J.P. Feyereisen in the tenth; his third of the year extended the Rays’ lead to 7-4 (395 feet, 101.3 EV). The former Cub is hitting .268 with a .798 OPS and has shown terrific power, backed by 88th percentile bat speed. However, he’s striking out at a 41.2% clip, compared to 26% last year.

Matt Gorski (PIT): 1-4, HR, R, RBI.

A 2nd round pick out of Indiana six years ago, Gorski hit .257 with a .359 wOBA, 23 home runs, and 15 stolen bases across 433 PA with Triple-A Indianapolis last year. The 27-year-old righty outfielder finally got the call last night and delivered in his first at-bat, smoking a letter-high fastball from Tyler Anderson for a solo shot in the second. Gorski might not have a regular role right away; Jack Suwinski was the corresponding demotion. He also struck out quite a bit last year in the minors (28.6%). Regardless, this was a pretty neat moment, and the ball was crushed (434 feet, 115.2 EV).

Speaking of crushed, Oneil Cruz murdered another baseball, sending Tyler Anderson’s second pitch off into the night (398 feet, 108.1 EV) for his seventh of the season. The poor thing.

Josh Jung (TEX): 1-4, HR, R, RBI.

Jung’s second of the season came in the fourth off righty J.T. Ginn (413 feet, 105 EV), cutting the A’s lead to 2-1. The 27-year-old righty is hitting .257 with a .738 OPS, and had not homered since April 11th before last night. He has also drawn just one walk, so he’s started slowly. Still, he has the upside to approach what Mark Vientos did last season.

Jonah Heim followed Jung’s home run with his third of the season.

Yandy Díaz (TBR): 3-5, 2B, R, RBI, SB.

Díaz entered the night hitting .230 with a career-low .286 wOBA through the first 24 games. However, he got favorable results last night, none bigger than a game-tying single in the ninth off righty Ryne Nelson. He’s swinging a lot more than we’re used to seeing; his chase rate is up about eight points compared to last year. Still, he makes sense as a buy-low considering his career .286 batting average.

Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X)