Bohm Improvement
Alec Bohm (PHI): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB.
Alec Bohm has been having a strong stretch lately for the Phillies. He came through again on Sunday, crushing a long home run to left field, finishing with a line of 2-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB. Bohm’s seventh homer of the season was his second in four games, and he’s collected nine RBIs in his last five games. Over the last 30 days, Bohm has been sizzling hot, slashing .319/.355/.509.
Bohm is having quite the turnaround. On May 2, Bohm looked lost, batting .217/.246/.267, and his 2025 season was following the script of his second-half collapse in 2024, putting his Phillies’ future in danger. Last year, Bohm led the league in doubles (33) and RBI (70) at the All-Star Break and even participated in the Home Run Derby. Then over the second half, he only hit 11 doubles and 27 RBI, including ending September going 8-for-47, followed by a 1-for-13 performance in the playoffs, which included a benching in a critical game.
The 28-year-old’s turnaround looks legit, with a strong 48.6% HardHit rate, his best since 2021, a 93rd percentile Whiff rate, and an 85th percentile K%. He is making the most of his time in the three-spot, and his improvement lately means he probably deserves a middle-of-the-order spot even when Bryce Harper comes off the injured list. Bohm’s Process+ shows that he wasn’t even that bad under the hood during his cold stretch. He’s not going to crush home runs every night, but Bohm will use his strong contact skills to get on base, and more importantly, get RBIs.
In fantasy, managers have long memories, especially if a player burned them over a large chunk of a fantasy season, such as Bohm did in 2024, and started to in 2025. The correct approach, however, is to make sure our biases do not cloud cold, hard stats. Alec Bohm is a strong buy for me moving forward, and I think you’ll find him to be cheaper than you think.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday:
Elly De La Cruz (CIN): 3-5, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.
What more can be said about the hot streak Elly is on? That’s four games in a row with a homer, and he’s up to 16 home runs on the season, slashing .273/.352/.498, along with 20 stolen bases. Elly’s K% has dropped from 31.3% to a career-low 26.6%, and he’s making his swings count with a career-high 48.4% HardHit rate, and a .470 xwOBACON, which is in the top nine percent of the league.
Eugenio Suárez (ARI): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Eugenio’s HR streak might not be consecutive, but it sure felt like it was after facing him in fantasy this week in my home league. He’s hit 8-for-30 over the last eight games, but five of those hits have been homers, and he’s collected 11 RBI over that span. The average will always be an issue, as evidenced by his .233 BA being right around his .239, and so will his decision-making skills, as evidenced by his 0-for-12 line in the three games he didn’t homer in during his eight-game streak, but his raw power makes up for it, especially in weekly leagues.
Junior Caminero (TBR): 1-3, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB.
After a rough six-game stretch batting 1-for-24, Junior Caminero hit his second homer in two games on Sunday. Caminero’s three-run shot in the ninth inning came after the game was already out of reach for the opposing Mets, but it’s nice to see the 21-year-old get back into the swing of things, literally. The 17 homers look great, and he’ll likely hit 30 at his pace, but fantasy managers would like a little more in the AVG and OBP departments, .246 and .292 respectively.
Jordan Westburg (BAL): 2-4, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB.
Jordan Westburg is back off the IL and back to rewarding his fantasy managers, finally. Westburg has three homers, eight RBIs, and four runs in the five games played since recovering from a hamstring injury, and is batting leadoff for the Orioles. If the entire team can continue to improve from their shockingly cold start to 2025, Westburg is due for a strong second half.
Gary Sánchez (BAL): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Gary Sánchez also just got off the IL for the Orioles on Saturday, and he homered in both games, including a grand slam in Sunday’s game. While Sanchez might get more opportunities at DH than most backup catchers, he’s still that — a backup catcher — and should only be rostered in two-catcher leagues.
Braxton Fulford (COL): 2-2, 3B, R, 5 RBI, BB.
More backup catcher bases-loaded heroics from Sunday, but this time Braxton Fulford takes a quieter approach at the plate than Sanchez. Fulford drew a walk with a great take on a 3-2 pitch when the game was still close, and then “crushed” a 50.8 mph bloop over first base that turned into a bases-clearing triple. Yes, a triple. No fantasy value here, but you gotta love baseball!
Randy Arozarena (SEA): 0-0, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 SB.
Officially, Randy Arozarena did not register an at-bat on Sunday, but boy was he busy on the basepaths. Three walks and a hit-by-pitch turned into two stolen bases and two runs. Owners in OBP leagues got more value out of this line than those in traditional settings, but after a cold spell in May, all fantasy managers are happy to see a stronger June for Arozarena, batting .283/.404/.413 over the last two weeks, with five stolen bases.
Nick Kurtz (ATH): 2-4, HR, R, RBI.
Here’s a reminder that 2024 first-rounder and Athletics‘ No. 1 prospect Nick Kurtz is not only back from the IL, but he’s also hitting homers again. This was his first since he returned on June 9, but it’s his sixth homer in only 129 plate appearances. While he hits the ball hard, with a Max EV of 113.6 mph, he needs to cut down on his 33.6% K rate to have consistent success at the big league level. Remember that even top prospects have growing pains, but those growing pains are sometimes better found on your bench than your waiver wire.
Rafael Devers (BOS): 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB.
I am not a Red Sox fan, but I feel for them today the same as I did when they shipped Mookie Betts out west. Trade analysis aside, at least Devers delivered in his last game for Boston, hitting an oppo-taco that just cleared the Green Monster. The field dimensions are much different in Oracle Park, but the boat traffic will likely be busier in McCovey Cove once Devers arrives in San Francisco, sending moonshots into the water. For now, enjoy his last homer for the Red Sox in Fenway.
