Hi-Cal Firepower

 

Cal Raleigh (SEA): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI

After Friday night’s game, Cal Raleigh is now your league leader in ISO and home runs with 12.  His season-high home run total was 34 last year, and he’s on pace to shatter that this season.  Given the inconsistencies at the catcher position, he’s looking like a league winner, as the next closest catcher in production is Logan O’Hoppe with nine home runs.  O’Hoppe is still 16 total bases behind Raleigh’s total of 71 in 31 games.

Raleigh crushed his 11th home run on a first pitch slider from Jack Leiter in the fourth, then added a grand slam off Leiter’s curveball one inning later below the zone:

Despite T-Mobile Park still ranking toward the bottom in most offensive hitting categories, Raleigh’s production makes him a formidable force in fantasy and a fun watch every time he comes to the plate.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday

 

Brandon Nimmo (NYM): 3-3, HR, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB.

Nimmo has been dealing with an undisclosed illness this week after having a massive 4-hit game, including two home runs on Monday.  He returned in full on Thursday but didn’t fully return to form until last night, with another 3-hit game featuring a home run.  In the past week, he’s had a pattern of multi-hit games, two games of non-production, then another multi-hit game, so if that pattern holds, look for Monday’s game vs. Corbin Burnes to be his next big game.

Alex Bregman (BOS): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, RBI.

One of the hottest players in the league right now is Bregman, riding a 12-game hit streak going back to April 20th.  He added his eighth home run of the season on Friday, giving him three home runs in his last four games.

David Hamilton (BOS): 3-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB.

Kristian Campbell missed a second straight game on Friday due to sore ribs, and Hamilton filled in admirably again, with a hit, a run, and at least one stolen base in back-to-back games.  It’s unclear whether regular playing time is in the cards for Hamilton, but the base-stealing threat factor he adds in the bottom of the lineup may warrant additional consideration even after Campbell returns.  It’s unclear how many games Campbell may miss with his rib injury, but Hamilton looks like a good base-stealing streamer if you need one.

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

PCA had cooled off a bit in the recent series at Pittsburgh with only one hit in 12 at-bats (even if that one hit was a home run), but he added another two home runs in Friday’s game.  His first came off Quinn Priester in the second inning during a 7-run onslaught. His second looked more like a golf swing off Joel Payamps in the seventh inning, but both had exit velocities around 107 mph:

Yainer Diaz (HOU): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Yainer had a rough start to the season, but fantasy owners may finally be seeing their patience pay off.  Fridays in particular have been good for Yainer, with multiple hit games on April 11th, April 18th, and last night.  Regrettably, this was still in a loss, but this is the fifth straight game with the Astros having nine or more hits as a team, which may suggest that they’re starting to find their offense.

Tyler Stephenson (CIN): 2-3, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

Stephenson made his season debut Friday night and ended up being double trouble for the Nats with two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs.  Due to Jose Trevino’s recent seven-game hit streak, it looks like the Reds plan to use both in the lineup, with Stephenson as the DH.  If you need a boost at catcher, it might be time to pick up Stephenson before he has more games like this one.

Luis Arraez (SDP): 3-5, 2B, R, 3 RBI.

Arraez returned from the IL on Tuesday and has been ramping up since, with six hits and five RBIs over these last three games.  Given all the injuries the team has endured recently, his return couldn’t have come at a better time, and they may also get Jackson Merrill back in the next week.

Riley Greene (DET): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

Greene accomplished a league first Friday night with two home runs in the ninth, which seems like a crazy achievement, but the Angels’ bullpen is just that bad.  Kenley Jansen had not pitched in over a week, and he may need another week off to recover from this one.

Javier Báez (DET): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Often a punchline in PitcherList lore, Báez has enjoyed teeing off the Angels’ bullpen, and now he has a home run in his last three games and a five-game hit streak going back to Sunday.  Opposing pitchers, throw him sliders and save yourself the highlight films.

 

Notable Injury News:

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was retroactively placed on the 10-day IL (back to 4/30) with an oblique strain, but Aaron Boone followed that up by saying he could miss four to six weeks.  Oblique strains tend to have an extended recovery time, so it would not be surprising to see him miss time closer to the six-week estimate if the Yankees take the cautious approach.

Austin Hays was retroactively placed on the 10-day IL (back to 4/29) with a hamstring strain.  Hays had been a big part of the Reds’ recent offensive surge, and his absence could be a factor for them going forward.

Triston Casas hurt himself after slipping off first base in the second inning on Friday and was taken off the field on a stretcher to the hospital.  It’s being called a “significant knee injury,” and there’s a strong chance it could be season-ending.

Fernando Tatis Jr. left Friday’s game after being hit by a pitch on his left arm, but x-rays were negative, and there is no indication yet that an IL stint will be required.  He will likely be listed as day-to-day.