My Cousin Vinnie

Vinnie Pasquantino (KC): 3-4, 2 HR, 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB.

One of the best social media follows in the game, Vinnie Pasquantino, and the Royals both came into the season with high expectations. While the Royals have disappointed after reaching the AL Division Series in 2024, Pasquantino has quietly matched his promising performance from his first full season in the majors. After hitting his 16th and 17th home runs in powering Kansas City to a road series win over the Cubs, the 27-year-old 1B will surely eclipse his career-high of 19 HRs and could see added production in the second half if he can bring his 16.8 K% down to the 12.8% he managed in 2024.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did on Wednesday:

 

Spencer Horwitz (PIT): 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.

Spencer Horwitz propelled the Pirates to a series sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a second-inning Grand Slam, his third HR of his injury-shortened first season in Pittsburgh. With the sweep, the Pirates became the first team to get swept by the worst team in a league (White Sox) and then sweep the best team in a league in consecutive series since 1980. In the Detroit series, Horwitz hit .583 with a 1.615 OPS and seven RBI. Pittsburgh is hoping for a big second half from their leadoff hitter and someone they were counting on to boost the offense when they acquired him from Cleveland for Luis Ortiz in the offseason.

 

Pete Alonso (NYM): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Pete Alonso’s struggles at the plate have mirrored the Mets’ poor record over the last few weeks, but the power has still popped for the 30-year-old All-Star as he blasted his 22nd, a three-run shot, in a 6-3 win over the Angels. Alonso has hit just .176/.295/.431 over his last 15 games, and he will need to turn it on over the last two months for the Mets to secure the NL East.

 

Jesus Sanchez (MIA): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.

Jesus Sanchez stepped to the plate in the fifth inning with the Marlins down 2-1 and blasted a pitch from Dylan Cease for a two-run HR, his ninth of 2025, giving Miami a 3-2 win over San Diego. An enigmatic power hitter, Sanchez has started the second half strong, hitting .320/.393/.600 over the last week.

 

Rafael Devers (SF): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

Rafael Devers has also enjoyed a strong post-All-Star break with his new team, connecting for HRs in back-to-back innings in the Giants’ 9-3 win over Spencer Strider and the Braves. Devers doubled his HR total with San Francisco after a slow start in the Bay Area, but he looks to be settling in with a .323/.344/.581 line over the last week.

 

Geraldo Perdomo (ARI): 4-4, 2 2B, R.

Not sure enough people appreciate the incredible season that Geraldo Perdomo is having in Arizona. After hitting 14 career HRs in 1,206 at-bats coming into the season, the 25-year-old has 10 in 2025, is hitting .283/.381/.432, and is one off his career-high with 15 stolen bases. On top of that, his 1.16 BB/K ratio ranks second in baseball behind Luis Arraez. Time to give the man his props.

 

Brice Turang (MIL): 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.

After bursting onto the scene in his sophomore season in 2024, Turang has quietly followed it up with a solid 2025. His .279/.349/.371 line is the result of him barreling the ball up significantly more (2.4% in 2024 to 6.3% in 2025), and the only qualm is that he isn’t stealing bases nearly as well (18 SB/8 CS in 2025 after 50 SB/6 CS in 2024).

 

Royce Lewis (MIN): 2-2, HR, R, RBI, BB.

Don’t look now, but Royce Lewis is starting to heat up. He now has three HRs in his last four games and is hitting .302/.333/.528 in his last 15 games. The 26-year-old has shown superstar potential at the plate when he is healthy and rolling, and if he is on the waiver wire, Lewis is worth taking a chance on in the hopes he turns around his disappointing 2025 in the second half.

 

Junior Caminero (TB): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Junior Caminero has certainly eclipsed Lewis as the young power-hitting 3B to watch in 2025, and he continued his strong season with his 26th HR in the first inning off White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon. It has been a whirlwind first full season in the MLB for the 22-year-old, and he has been especially impressive over the last month, hitting .298/.331/.562 with nine HRs, not to mention his stellar Home Run Derby performance.

 

Kyle Teel (CHW): 4-5, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI.

A major piece in the Garrett Crochet trade, 23-year-old catcher Kyle Teel had a game to remember against the Rays, with four hits, including his first big league HR off Joe Boyle. While the power has been slow to develop, Teel has acclimated himself well to big league pitching over his first 83 at-bats and is hitting .348/.400/.522 over the last week.

 

Colson Montgomery (CHW): 2-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 5 RBI.

The youth movement was on display for the White Sox on Wednesday, as top prospect Colson Montgomery joined Teel with a home run, his second in his first 51 at-bats in the majors. Montgomery was a bit of a surprise call-up after he struggled in Triple-A this season with a 33.0% K rate and a .215/.295/.416 line, but he has also acclimated himself well to big league pitching, hitting .275/.351/.471 with an impressive 12 RBI.

 

Romy González (BOS): 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.

Romy González continued his surprising season for the Red Sox, hitting a fifth-inning grand slam off Jesús Luzardo to give Boston the lead in a game they would win 9-8 in extra innings. Gonzalez doesn’t walk much, and his .297 average will probably come down a bit over the second half, but there is no doubting Gonzalez has serious pop in his bat.

 

Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Schwarber got to work early on Wednesday, hitting his 33rd HR of the season in the first inning off Lucas Giolito. Few are as fearsome in the box as the 32-year-old Schwarber, and he now has eight HRs in his last 15 games.

 

Bryson Stott (PHI): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB.

Stott is another person looking to turn around a disappointing season in the second half, and he did it all for Philadelphia from the nine spot in the lineup, hitting his seventh HR and stealing his 15th base in the loss. You could argue that Stott has gotten slightly unlucky with a career-low .262 BABIP, but the solid pop that he showed in 2023 (15 HR) has slowly evaporated, as his .108 ISO is also a career-low.