Jack Suwinski (PIT): 3-3, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Double Shot of Suwinski

It’s been rough going for Jack Suwinski in 2024, but last night he flashed some of the pop that made him a trendy pick during fantasy draft season. The slugging lefty finished the day a perfect 3-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, including a 448-foot three-run bomb tied for the day’s furthest hit.

I was a huge believer in Suwinski this spring, and there was a lot to like. He was entering his age-25 season coming off a 26-homer, 13-steal, 14% walk rate campaign with no real threat to his playing time. Unfortunately, Suwinski’s third year in the bigs has turned out to be nothing short of a massive disappointment. He’s slashing a miserable .180/.263/.315, good for a 62 wRC+.

After a brief demotion to Triple-A to get things right, Suwinksi’s reclaimed a nearly everyday job–he’s started eight of the Pirates’ last 10 games–but the results have only gotten worse. Before his demotion, Suwinski posted a .251 wOBA in 157 plate appearances. Since being recalled, he has a .222 wOBA over 65 plate appearances.

I’m still a believer in Suwinski long-term, but in redraft formats, there’s nothing to get your hopes up for a quick turnaround. He’s declined nearly across the board, so there’s not much of a reason to hold him even in the deepest leagues. On the flip side, in dynasty leagues, Suwinski’s an interesting buy-low. I don’t think the promise we saw him display in 2023 is totally gone, but 2024 may be a lost season.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:

Trea Turner (PHI): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

No Harper. No Schwarber. No problem. Turner almost single-handedly out-hit the Cubs in the Phillies’ 6-4 win in Wrigley last night. Both of Turner’s home runs came against Hayden Wesneski fastballs left belt-high and over the plate. Turner’s been red-hot lately with multiple hits in four of his last six games. He’s slashing .338/.386/.487 and has been rather fortunate with a .399 BABIP.

Nathaniel Lowe (TEX): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

This was a much-needed showing from Lowe. After hitting 27 bombs in 2022, he’s struggled to recapture that kind of power output. His barrel, pull, and hard-hit rates have all fallen in each of the past two seasons. Last night he hit Dylan Cease around, winning an eight-pitch battle in his first at-bat by slugging a high changeup over the left-field wall. He followed that up by taking a four-seamer the opposite way for his second two-run homer of the day. Even with the two big flies last night, Lowe’s still at just six on the season. He looks to be heating up though and may be worth an add in deep fantasy formats. He has seven hits in his last 13 at-bats.

Elly De La Cruz (CIN): 2-5, 3B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Elly handled the bright lights of Yankee Stadium just fine last night, completing the two hardest parts of the cycle. His 114.1 mph triple against Luis Gil in the fourth inning topped yesterday’s exit velocity leaderboard. There’s not much to say about Elly from a fantasy perspective. If you have him, enjoy it. His 15 home runs and 40 steals make him one of the most fun players to roster, especially if you’re in a league where his 31% strikeout rate doesn’t count against you.

Luis Robert Jr. (CHW): 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, SB.

The White Sox have to trade Robert, right? I know he’s one of the few fun things that South Side fans can cling to, but the team is so far away from contention that it feels like they almost have no choice. It’s pretty doubtful that Robert will be healthy and still under team control by the time the White Sox field another competitive squad. Unfortunately, Robert’s once again been bit by the injury bug. He’s only played in 32 games but does have 10 homers and four steals. I think he’s an interesting fantasy trade target right now. You’d be running some health risk of course, but if he gets dealt to a strong lineup, he could be a counting stat monster in the second half.

Nolan Gorman (STL): 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.

Gorman’s one of the streakiest hitters in baseball. Since his homer binge in early June, he entered last night slashing .083/.151/.155 over his previous 93 plate appearances. I just dropped him in one of my leagues, and another manager may have done the same in yours. He can be infuriating to roster, single-handedly winning you weeks when he’s hot but killing all your stats when he’s not. Seeing him smash a 415-foot blast to left-center yesterday has me thinking of rushing out to pick him up in leagues where I could use a power boost in the hope that he’s snapping out of his funk.

Heliot Ramos (SFG): 2-4, HR, R, RBI, BB, SB.

Every time I write about Ramos I preach caution that his .371 BABIP and 26.7% strikeout rate will inevitably lead to this hot streak coming to an end, but he just keeps chugging along. His ninth-inning solo shot was his 11th of the season, pushing his slash line to a remarkable .298/.373/.524. I dove deep into his profile two weeks ago in Is It Legit? and I stand by my conclusion there. I’ve picked him up in a few leagues. I want him to keep succeeding. But there are plenty of red flags that make me view him as a sell-high if you can get another manager in your league to bite on an offer.

Jarren Duran (BOS): 1-4, HR, R, RBI, BB, SB.

Duran’s breakout season is in full swing. He’s been covered here in Batter’s Box articles quite a bit this year, and for good reason. After his 433-foot crush job against JT Chargois last night, Duran has a 131 wRC+ with 10 homers. He also completed the combo meal by swiping his 21st bag yesterday. Duran’s phenomenal fielding and baserunning come together to make him one of the most valuable players in baseball – his 3.5 fWAR is the ninth-highest among position players.

Justyn-Henry Malloy (DET): 2-4, HR, R, RBI.

Malloy connected on the fourth home run of his big-league career last night. A changeup from Simeon Woods Richardson ran inside and Malloy got all of it, pulling it 402 feet to left field. Even after the big night, Malloy’s still hitting below the Mendoza line which doesn’t exactly scream “Add Me!” in fantasy leagues, but he’s shown a solid hit tool by slashing .272/.416/.473 in over 800 Triple-A plate appearances. Keep an eye on him in deep leagues.

Jackson Chourio (MIL): 2-3, R, SB.

Make that a nine-game hitting streak for Chourio. It can be hard to appropriately set expectations for superstar-type prospects when they debut, especially when they’re just 20 years old like Chourio, but he seems to finally be finding his way against the game’s best pitchers. Even after the disappointing start, he now has a 92 wRC+ with nine home runs and nine steals. He could be in store for a huge finish to the season, so if someone grew impatient and dropped him in your redraft league, I’d pick him up.