Stay Casty, Philadelphia

 

Nick Castellanos (PHI): 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI

Nick Castellanos had a huge hit in Sunday’s victory over the Dodgers. Down 2-0 to starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow heading into the bottom of the third inning, the Phillies tied the score, loaded the bases, and chased Glasnow from the game. Castellanos drove the first post-Glasnow pitch he saw to deep left field for a game-changing grand slam.

Castellanos had a relatively decent 2024 season, playing all 162 games while quietly carrying the team through the summer months when stars such as Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber missed time. He was also one of the few Phillies players who showed up during their brief playoff run. Most significantly, he cut down his strikeouts, always a big hole in his game, from 185 to 139. Still, his home runs dropped from 29 in 2023 to 23 in 2024, and his doubles from 37 to 30.

Casty is enjoying a strong start to 2025, slashing .258/.343/.484, mostly hitting out of the six-hole on one of the best teams in the league. The bottom half of the Phillies’ lineup suits Castellanos well at this stage in his career. No one is rostering Castellanos for his upside, but the 20-25 home run bat that he’s settling into can be helpful for those in leagues who start more than three outfielders, and he can be a solid high-floor bench bat for those in shallower leagues. Stay Casty, Nick.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday:

 

Teoscar Hernández (LAD): 3-3, 2B, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.

While Casty was trying to be the hero for the Phillies on Sunday, Teoscar Hernández was doing everything he could to keep the Dodgers in the game. Teoscar slugged two oppo-taco home runs in the game off Cristopher Sánchez and added a double later in the game, as he continues his strong start to the season with a five-RBI game.

Often overlooked in a loaded Dodgers lineup, Teoscar might have been one of the most affordable ways to get a piece of the Los Angeles offense during draft season, and he is even more valuable for fantasy managers now that Freddie Freeman has hit the IL.

 

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

Jackson Chourio almost matched Teoscar’s box score with a double-dong five-RBI game of his own in the Brewers’ 8-2 victory over the Reds. Chourio needed this game as he’s having a rough start to 2025, with no steals (1 CS), no walks, and a 34.1% K% in 45 plate appearances.

 

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

Kyle Tucker, on the other hand, is having a scorching hot start to 2025 and his Cubs career. Another homer on Sunday gave him five on the season, tied for second in the league behind Aaron Judge’s six HRs. Tucker is slashing .319/.458/.745 and is loving life in Chicago, while fantasy managers are feeling just as good about their first-round selection’s performance this season.

 

Jackson Merrill (SDP): 2-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB

Jackson Merrill stays hot after signing his nine-year, $135-million extension last week, swatting another home run and swiping another base. The 21-year-old Merrill, in his second year in the league, is the kind of fantasy player you target as a buy-high in dynasty leagues. If you have any doubts, just look at the dark red all over his Savant page. This young man is going to be a real-life and fantasy star for many years to come.

 

Brenton Doyle (COL): 3-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI

Many baseballs were crushed in Denver on Sunday by both the Rockies and the A’s, but we’ll highlight Brenton Doyle’s performance as, up until today, Doyle had done nothing to justify his 2025 ADP of 73rd overall. The Rockies’ leadoff hitter should have better days ahead, but Colorado’s offense had looked downright awful this year until today, even at home. Maybe a couple more games at Coors this week can get Doyle going in April so that no one starts to think he is this year’s Nolan Jones. Wait, is he?

 

Alex Bregman (BOS): 4-9, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 6 RBI, BB

The Boston Red Sox swept Sunday’s doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals. The first game was a tight extra-inning victory, where Alex Bregman went 0-for-4, though he did score the winning run. The nightcap was a blowout, with Bregman going wild with three extra-base hits, including his first Fenway home run.

After tonight’s 6-RBI performance, it begs the question: who is enjoying life out of Houston more, Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman?

 

Rafael Devers (BOS): 5-8, 2 2B, HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 2 BB

Rafael Devers also had a solid line in Game 2, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, four runs, and three RBI, but it was his Game 1 home run that we want to highlight, his first of the season. The Red Sox struggled to start the season, Devers included. But it seems like a trip back to Boston is all the team needed to get their offense going. Just another reason not to overreact when your star players run cold at the beginning of the season. Keep calm and watch Devers slug a homer.

 

Yordan Alvarez (HOU): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI

Hey, look, another early-round slugger who hit his first home run of the season on Sunday! Yordan Alvarez has been struggling early in 2025, even more than his cold start to the 2024 season, but his ninth-inning bomb of Griffin Jax completed a six-run comeback that turned into an extra-innings victory for the Astros over the Twins. If any Yordan owners have been worried over the past two weeks, watch the video below. There are at least 30 more of those coming this summer if Yordan stays healthy.

 

Kyren Paris (LAA): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB

Kyren Paris was pushing for a full-time starting role for the Angels even before his combo meal on Sunday. Calling Paris’ previous MLB stints unnoticeable would be generous, though after a solid spring and beginning to the season, here we are talking about him as a fantasy asset. Check out Matt LaMarca’s Waiver Wire article from Sunday for an argument for why you might want to target Paris, but I’m more skeptical, especially with Zach Neto currently playing rehab games in the minors and with the fact that Paris is the No. 7 hitter on the Los Angeles Angels.