Goodman Vibes Only
Hunter Goodman (COL): 3-5, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 R, 5 RBI.
The Colorado Rockies finally won their seventh game of the season, and it was mostly thanks to Hunter Goodman’s offensive performance on Sunday. Goodman’s hot bat brought in the Rockies’ first five runs of the day, and he finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle. His final line was 3-5, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 R, 5 RBI. Not too shabby.
Goodman was an afterthought for many during draft season, even with a hot spring. Most of the apprehension was his terrible first taste of MLB action over the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Rockies, however, felt he was ready for a full-time role this season, and he’s had a solid 2025 so far, slashing .288/.346/.489 on the season. Goodman’s 24 RBI and 21 runs on the season are both tied for second among catchers, trailing only Cal Raleigh in both categories. He’s also leading all catchers with 40 hits this season.
Goodman’s extra playing time is helping him rack up the counting stats at the position. When he’s not starting behind the plate, Colorado has him penciled in as their DH. The extra playing time at the C position is huge, especially when you’re batting cleanup and half your games are at Coors. Still, Goodman is only owned in 47% of Yahoo! leagues, ranking him 12th in catcher ownership, even though he’s the sixth-ranked catcher in fantasy. What gives?
The obvious answer is that while he plays half his games at Coors, he plays half his games on the Rockies away from Coors. However, Goodman’s home/away splits have been pretty even, and he’s hit four of his six home runs on the road. Yes, he plays for the Rockies, but the numbers below are pretty solid for a catcher.
His xStats paint a different picture and should be the real reason to pump the brakes on Goodman. His xBA is .225, and his xSLG is .377 (lower than last year’s). He also only barrels the ball 6.9% of the time, ranking him 17th overall in that category among catchers. The stats above look good, but his Statcast data is icy blue. His Process+ rolling chart also views Goodman as nothing more than a slightly below league-average hitter. The chart below is not one of a potential breakout hitter.
Goodman’s one saving grace he can capitalize on moving forward is hitting the ball hard. His 48% HardHit rate is in the 75th percentile and ranks sixth overall among catchers. He also tattooed a double on Sunday at 116.2 mph, which was the hardest hit ball of his young career.
Goodman can have fantasy value this year, but I wouldn’t rush to the wire to pick him up in 12-teamers. He’s running hot now, but a cold spell is definitely in the forecast. Keep him on your watch list, and stream when necessary, especially in Coors, even with his even splits.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday:
Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
The Phillies fan in me is making me start with Schwarber, but it’s really his double-dinger performance that makes him deserving of this spot in the Batter’s Box line-up. Schwarber has hit seven Schwarbombs in his last 12 games and is now tied with Aaron Judge for the league lead with 14. He’s loving life as Philly’s clean-up hitter this season.
Freddie Freeman (LAD): 4-4, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Freddie is doing Freddie things, and you love to see it. The 35-year-old is playing like a 25-year-old, slashing .376/.437/.734, and it’s all legit. His xwOBA is .429 (98th percentile), his xBA is .321 (97th percentile), and his xSLG is .621 (98th percentile). What a stud.
George Springer (TOR): 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
George Springer hit his fifth home run of the season and is challenging Freddie Freeman to see who is the age-35 fantasy MVP. The thing with Freddie is that we expected it, while we all thought that Springer was cooked. Well, he’s back and cooking like it’s 2021, hitting the ball harder than he ever has (51% HardHit rate) and getting on base more than ever with a career-high 16.8 BB%. He’s slashing .297/.404/.517, and Statcast backs it all up. I love a good comeback story. See you at the All-Star game, George!
Heliot Ramos (SFG): 2-2, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB.
Heliot Ramos must wish he could play the Twins all the time. Homering for the second day in a row, Ramos went 6-for-8 in the weekend series and collected five RBIs, including four on Sunday. These were Ramos’ first homers since he hit two in back-to-back games on April 30 and May 1.
Ben Rice (NYY): 1-3, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.
Rice smacked a grand slam on Sunday, the first of his young career, continuing what has been a breakout 2025 season for him. It’s nice to see him go yard, as he hadn’t hit a home run since April 29 (when he hit two). Overall, Rice has nine homers, a 97th percentile Barrel rate, and a 95th percentile HardHit rate. Still, Rice does most of his damage off righties and sits against most lefties, so you need to factor that into your fantasy plans. Giancarlo Stanton’s return is also looming, which could cut into Rice’s playing time at DH.
Gunnar Henderson (BAL): 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Those who got to draft Gunnar late in the first round due to injury concerns thought they were getting the steal of the 2025 fantasy draft season. However, Gunnar’s season, similar to the Orioles’ offense as a whole, has been underwhelming. Fantasy managers are hoping to see more series like Gunnar had against the Angels on the weekend, hitting 5-for-13 with two homers, four RBI, and five runs.
Nolan Arenado (STL): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Old man Arenado had a strong game on Sunday, hitting a homer and a double against the Nationals. This was only his fourth homer of the season, as Arenado’s power is just not what it used to be. He was also cooling down at the plate last month, so it’s nice to see him have a decent May so far to raise his slash line to a respectable .270/.352/.426 on the season.
Tim Elko (CHW): 1-3, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Who? Yeah, I had to Google him too. Turns out his first hit of his MLB career was a three-run homer off Sandy Alcantara, giving the White Sox the lead over the Marlins, which they would turn into a 4-2 victory. This was Elko’s second game since being called up, and he was crushing it in the minors this season with 10 homers in 31 games, along with a 1.101 OPS.
Wilyer Abreu (BOS): 3-4, HR, R, RBI.
I swear, Wilyer Abreu seems to have a home run in his stat line every time I’m writing up a Batter’s Box article. Yes, Rafael Devers is king in Boston (who also homered on Sunday), and Alex Bregman is having a career resurgence, but Abreu is up to 10 homers on the season and is having a better season statistically than Juan Soto. This future All-Star is legit and is well on his way to besting his 15 homers from last season.
