The Yandy Man Can
Yandy Díaz (TBR): 3-5, 2B, RBI.
Three more knocks have Yandy amidst a modest, six-game hitting streak. The Rays leadoff man excited us last year with significant power gains (113 power via PLV in 251 BBE), blasting a career-best 22 home runs and .402 wOBA. However, those gains have dissipated this year, with his batted balls earning a middle-of-the-line 96 power score on PLV (100 is the league average) and 52nd percentile xwOBACON. His .732 OPS pales in comparison to last year’s .932.
He has instead upped his contact ability from 116 to 126 this year while maintaining good swing decisions (109 DV), albeit not as great as last year’s mark of 126. His bat speed is still superb. A couple of days ago, he smoked a 117.4 EV double, the highest mark of his career and something only a few others have done this year.
I guess it’s best to adjust power expectations down a little bit relative to last year, but I wouldn’t be surprised in the least bit to see him have a big second half. He’s such a unique hitter in terms of his batting eye, contact ability, and swing speed that he can basically do anything he wants while giving fantasy analysts something to ponder for what seems like ages. Sure, he’s not going to suddenly hit 30 home runs, but very few hitters can claim a career .374 OBP and .288 batting average.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday:
Mark Vientos (NYM): 2-3, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
Mark Vientos blasted an 0-2 fastball from righty Tanner Gordon for his 12th of the season, a solo shot to left (407 feet, 102.9 EV) in the second. You don’t need me to tell you he’s got legit power (PLV says 117 in 123 BBE). This reminds me a little of what we saw from Jake Burger last year, both being power-hitting prospects who charged full steam out of the gate. Burger has crashed hard in year two. Can Vientos keep it going? His contact-ability has dipped a bit (87 via PLV), so there will probably be a tough stretch at some point where he’ll have to prove he can recognize spin.
I also wonder if we will see Brett Baty, who has a .376 wOBA in 29 games with Triple-A Syracuse, back again this summer. But that’s me constructing a narrative. Guilty. Plain and simple, this is the most production the Mets have gotten from third base in ages, so this is Vientos’ spot.
The Mets also got two home runs apiece from Jose Iglesias and Harrison Bader, their seventh and ninth hitters, in a Friday night edition of That’s Baseball, Suzyn.
MJ Melendez (KCR): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI.
An 0-1 sweeper from Greg Weissert caught too much of the plate and ended up 392 feet (100 EV) away in the Red Sox bullpen, thanks to Melendez, who has gone yard in each of his past three games. Melendez’s batted ball data has been pretty good this year (113 power via PLV; 180 BBE). However, he’s struggled to get anything going, running a .225 BABIP that seems at least a little harsh. Positive regression or not, he should still be a playable source of power in the second half in leagues where he’s catcher-eligible.
Marcell Ozuna (ATL): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Ozuna’s second homer of the night came against an elevated 97 mph fastball from Enyel De Los Santos in the ninth, a 422-foot (108.1 EV) shot just to the right of straightaway center. He has a .389 wOBA and 148 wRC+ over the last two seasons (236 games) and has 76 RBI this year, the most by a Brave before the All-Star break since they moved to Atlanta.
Willie Calhoun (LAA): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Hours after his first at-bat ended with his third dinger of the season courtesy of a heater from Bryan Woo, Calhoun stepped to the plate in the tenth with the Angels down 5-4 and a runner on second. Austin Voth was on the mound and tossed a 1-0 sweeper that caught too much of the plate, and the rest, as they say, was history, to the tune of a 409-foot, 104.1 mph dinger.
Calhoun is in a difficult spot as a 29-year-old journeyman who doesn’t have a defensive position. He’s always had an exceptional ability to make contact (13.9% K rate this year) but has never quite hit for enough power to justify a spot. He hit a career-high 21 home runs in 83 games with Texas in 2019 and has hit 18 since.
Jesse Winker (WSN): 2-3, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Winker’s 11th came on a high fastball from Freddy Peralta, a 403-foot (108.3 EV) solo bomb to right in the fifth. Winker’s 48th percentile xwOBACON indicates just about average power (98 power via PLV; 216 BBE). However, his keen eye at the plate (13.8% BB rate) makes him a very good bet in OBP leagues. And then there’s the 12 steals, nine more than he’s had in his entire career. Sure, why not?
Rece Hinds (CIN): 1-3, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.
Yonny Chirinos put a 94 mph heater on a tee for Rece Hinds, who promptly redirected it 396 feet to straightaway central for his first career grand slam, putting the Reds ahead for good, 7-0 in the third. Hinds has big power, as you might’ve guessed, and has taken advantage of the recent opportunity with the Reds being banged up. However, he also struck out at a 38.4% clip in 77 games at Triple-A this year, so sustaining success in the majors might be a tough, if not improbable, task.
Jonathan India also went yard for the Reds, a solo shot leading off the bottom of the first (407 feet, 103.3 EV).
Trey Lipscomb (WSN): 2-4, 2B, RBI, SB.
The Nationals recently parted ways with Nick Senzel and welcomed back Trey Lipscomb, their third-round pick from two years ago out of Tennessee. The Nats called him up earlier this year for a cup of coffee when Senzel broke his thumb. He didn’t do a ton, but this should be an extended audition. He hit .290 with a .348 wOBA, three home runs, and two steals in 34 games with Triple-A Rochester.
Jesús Sánchez (MIA): 1-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Sánchez provided the Marlins their lone piece of offense, drilling a three-run tater to right off Carson Spiers in the fourth (377 feet, 96.8 EV). Sánchez has once again flashed big raw power (114 via PLV in 192 BBE), but questionable pitch recognition has prevented him from being a reliable force.
Brett Wisely (SFG): 3-3, 2B, 3B, R, 2 RBI, BB.
Wisely posted a .396 wOBA with a near-even K/BB across 32 games with Triple-A Sacramento, so his contact skills are pretty good. He should be the Giants’ starting shortstop from here on out, with them having released Nick Ahmed. I’m not sure Wisely has much upside, at least in terms of power, but he’s there if you’re in a deep league and need at-bats.
Dansby Swanson (CHC): 2-4, R, RBI.
This wasn’t a huge line from Swanson, but at the very least, he’s strung together three consecutive two-hit games. He’s been one of the first half’s biggest disappointments, hitting a career-low .213 with a .280 wOBA. However, his PLV profile suggests a rebound wouldn’t be all that wacky. He’s making very good swing decisions (115 DV) while showing above-average power (105; 202 BBE) and makes sense as a buy-low candidate.