Smith and Tell
Josh Smith (TEX): 3-5, 2 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI, SB.
The Rangers are a team at a crossroads of sorts in 2025.
Even though they beat the Cardinals 8-1 on Sunday in Arlington, they are currently 29-31 and four games behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL West. When it comes to players, they can depend on hitting-wise, it hasn’t come from the “usual” suspects.
Corey Seager is back, but he’s missed some time due to injury (and has a sub-.800 OPS as well). Marcus Semien may be in the twilight of his career, as he has a .561 OPS and is hitting at the bottom of the Rangers’ lineup. Adolis García has gone from postseason hero to hitting .208 with a .626 OPS in 197 plate appearances. Jake Burger is hitting .211 with a .635 OPS and was demoted to Triple-A for a short period.
Thankfully, Texas has had players like Josh Smith step up in 2025.
In 192 plate appearances, Smith is hitting .269 with a .749 OPS. In Sunday’s seven-run victory, he had himself a day by collecting three hits, four RBI, two doubles, a homer, and a stolen base. It was the kind of complete hitting performance that the Rangers desperately needed from the leadoff spot in their series finale against the Cardinals.
For the year, Smith has five home runs and seven stolen bases, which is good, but not eye-popping fantasy-wise. The 27-year-old LSU product has a ton of defensive versatility, as he qualifies for 1B, 3B, SS, and OF in Yahoo Fantasy formats. He’s only rostered in 15% of Yahoo leagues, so he may be worth a dart throw for fantasy managers desperate for utility hitting help.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday.
Michael Busch (CHC): 2-2, HR, R, 3 RBI, 2 BB.
Busch carried the Cubs in their 7-3 win over the Reds in their series finale at Wrigley. For the season, the 27-year-old first baseman is hitting .266 and has eight home runs and 33 RBI in 55 games and 205 plate appearances. After hitting .248 with 21 home runs last year, Busch seems poised to surpass those 2024 marks.
Luis Matos (SFG): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI, SB.
The Giants closed out the Marlins on Sunday, and Matos had a big part in the Giants’ 4-2 win. He collected two hits, had three RBI, a home run, and a stolen base. Matos has shown tantalizing promise before, but he hasn’t quite put it all together in his three seasons at the Major League level. In 485 career plate appearances, he has a career batting average of .224 and an OPS of .622. His .167 average and .572 OPS in 76 plate appearances don’t feel like a step in the right direction.
Elly De La Cruz (CIN): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.
It hasn’t been De La Cruz’s best season (.258 average and .786 OPS), but he seems to be trending in the right direction recently. He’s improved his batting average by 17 points and his OPS by 73 points since May 23rd. On Sunday, he hit his 12th home run of the year, which goes along nicely with his 17 stolen bases. At least the power-speed combo is as strong as ever.
Tyler Freeman (COL): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, SB.
The Rockies only have nine wins … and it’s June 1. Brutal. What’s not brutal? Freeman’s two-hit, home run, and stolen base performance against the Mets. Then again, Freeman is only hitting .238 with a .663 OPS this year. Maybe Freeman’s tenure in Colorado has been a reflection of what the club has been overall this season.
Mike Tauchman (CHW): 2-4, 3B, HR, R, RBI.
The White Sox were swept by the Orioles this weekend, but Tachman had a solid weekend. He had two hits on Sunday, which included his second home run of the season. The sample size is small (52 plate appearances), but the 34-year-old Bradley University product has a .372 average and 1.132 OPS. He may be the spark they need in the lineup as long as he stays healthy.
Juan Soto (NYM): 1-2, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.
A .792 OPS and 10 home runs in 259 plate appearances would be solid marks for most MLB players. However, Soto just signed one of the richest deals in MLB history this offseason. Thus, expectations are much higher for him, and this cold start hasn’t been received warmly by fans who were expecting his .988 OPS from a season ago. His OPS did improve 92 points from April to May, so maybe this big day on June 1st is a sign of things to come this month.
Xavier Edwards (MIA): 5-5, 2B, R, RBI.
Edwards is not going to give the Marlins much power. He had five hits today, but only one of those base hits was of the extra-base variety. Still, he’s hitting .282 with 11 stolen bases in 200 plate appearances. Edwards would have been the perfect prototype for a leadoff hitter back in the ’70s and ’80s, when contact ability and speed were the two most essential traits.
Addison Barger (TOR): 1-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.
It’s been a much better sophomore campaign for Barger. His average is up by 70 points, and his OPS is .816, a 215-point improvement. He also has five home runs in 132 plate appearances, just two away from his 2024 total (which was over 225 plate appearances). Barger’s batted-ball stats seem legit, and the increase in walk rate and decrease in strikeout rate are making him even more effective in 2025.
José Ramírez (CLE): 2-4, HR, R, RBI.
Every year, Ramirez seems to get lost in the shuffle of great hitters. And yet, he’s having another MVP-caliber season in 2025. In 237 plate appearances, he’s hitting .327 with a .939 OPS. He also has 14 stolen bases and 11 home runs, his latest coming today against the Angels. He likely won’t win the MVP this year (again), but he once again will do his best to make his case.
