Solano Shot
Donovan Solano (MIN): 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, RBI.
The Twins’ batters celebrated the Fourth of July in style yesterday, putting on a firework show at the plate in their 9-3 win over the Royals. Donovan Solano led the way for Minnesota, putting up a 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, RBI line as the Twins climbed back over .500.
Solano looked right at home with fellow veteran Zack Greinke on the mound. He ripped two hard hits against the soft-tossing righty’s sinker—a 365-foot solo home run and 354-foot double. Solano tacked on his final extra-base hit of the day against Nick Wittgren in the seventh, a double laced down the left-field line at 104.8 mph.
The 35-year-old utility infielder is on his third team in three years, and he’s putting together one of the best seasons of his career. Solano’s slashing .277/.376/.411 with four home runs, 21 runs, 20 RBI, and a career-best 11.5% walk rate. His counting stats aren’t exciting, but that’s what we’ve come to expect from the veteran. He doesn’t pack much power in his bat or speed in his legs, but he’ll hit for a solid average while filling in across the diamond.
If you could look up the definition of a player who is a much better real-life contributor than a fantasy asset, you’d see Solano’s picture. He’s incredibly valuable for a Minnesota club full of oft-injured players, but he’s not worth much for your fantasy squad. Solano’s only starting about four games a week, but in AL-only leagues he could help your squad in batting average and on-base percentage.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:
Jonathan India (CIN): 3-6, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.
India was absolutely locked in at the plate yesterday, blasting home runs off of both Patrick Corbin and Cory Abbott in the Reds’ 8-4 win in the nation’s capital. He also tallied a single and two hard-hit groundouts; only one of his six at-bats ended with a ball hit slower than 98 mph. The 2021 National League Rookie of the Year is having quite the bounce-back season. He’s slashing .255/.344/.426 with 13 home runs, 64 runs, 48 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. His .283 BABIP could even come up a bit, so his results may get even better.
Mitch Garver (TEX): 2-2, 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB.
The Rangers’ offense has been phenomenal this year, and it’s given Garver a tough time breaking into the starting nine regularly. He took advantage of a rare start yesterday and reached base in all four of his plate appearances, including blasting a home run that cleared the tall centerfield wall at Fenway. Garver missed about seven weeks in April and May with a knee sprain, so he’s only at 93 plate appearances on the season, but in that time he’s slashing .256/.344/.463 with four home runs. He’d be a lot more interesting fantasy option if he started even just one or two more times a week.
James Outman (LAD): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Outman was seeing everything Luis Ortiz was throwing yesterday, sending both his four-seamer and changeup over the rightfield wall in back-to-back plate appearances. The two big flies were Outman’s first since May 17th, a stretch during which he posted just a 32 wRC+. Outman started the year red hot, so maybe his big game on Tuesday will get him back in the groove. Many fantasy managers weren’t patient with him, so he’s available in 78% of ESPN leagues and 68% of Yahoo! leagues if you want to take a chance on the Dodgers’ rookie.
Ozzie Albies (ATL): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
The Braves’ lineup this year looks like what happens when I play my MLB The Show franchise on Rookie difficulty. Nearly every hitter is putting up incredible numbers, and Albies is on pace for the best power numbers of his career. His homers yesterday came off of two of the Guardians’ best arms, Shane Bieber and Emmanuel Clase. Albies is up to 22 dingers already, a pace that would shatter his career-high of 30 in 2021. His strikeout and swinging strike rate are also the best he’s posted since his rookie campaign.
Amed Rosario (CLE): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Rosario touched up Kolby Allard yesterday, collecting both of his extra-base knocks against the Braves’ lefty. Like a lot of Cleveland’s lineup, Rosario has been pretty disappointing this year. His homer yesterday was just his second of the season. He’s slashing .266/.311/.364, and both his barrel and strikeout rates have gotten worse. Although nothing stands out in Rosario’s profile indicating that he’s due for some positive regression, it looks like he may be heating up at the plate. He has hits in 14 of his last 16 games and four of the last five have been of the multi-hit variety. He’s available in over half of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues but with stolen bases up across the league, his toolset is a little less exciting than it was last year.
Mike Ford (SEA): 4-5, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.
After spending time with four different teams last year, Ford’s found a home in the Pacific Northwest. He tallied nine total bases in the Mariners’ 6-0 win in San Francisco yesterday and is slashing an impressive .279/.324/.618, good for a 158 wRC+. Ford’s strong showing has earned him a place in the starting lineup most days, but he will take a seat when Seattle faces a left-handed starting pitcher.
Gleyber Torres (NYY): 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB.
After Torres’ much-talked-about power outage, he’s in the middle of his second straight comeback season. He’s helped the Yankees stay afloat in the playoff chase without Aaron Judge anchoring the lineup and is hitting .248/.325/.420 with 13 home runs, 47 runs, 36 RBI, and seven stolen bases. Perhaps most impressive is that Torres has significantly improved his plate discipline. His 14.1% strikeout rate is by far the best mark of his career, as is his 8.9% swinging-strike rate and 78.7% contact rate.
Jake Cronenworth (SD): 3-4, 2 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Not only was Cronenworth’s line impressive, but all three of his hits were against Shohei Ohtani and came off his bat with 100+ mph exit velocities. That’s probably a career day for the Padres’ first baseman. Overall, Cronenworth’s season stats have been disappointing. This is the fourth straight season he’s declined in wRC+ and barrel rate. His .220/.318/.370 slash line is buoyed by his 80th-percentile walk rate.
Jesús Sánchez (MIA): 3-6, HR, R, 4 RBI.
The Marlins roughed up the Cardinals yesterday, blowing out the Redbirds 15-2 in Miami. Sánchez got the team going with a three-run shot against Adam Wainwright in the first inning, and the team never looked back. Miami’s young outfielder is putting together a strong season, slashing .257/.321/.474 with eight home runs. His 85th percentile max exit velocity makes him an intriguing fantasy power option, but you’ll have to put up with a poor strikeout rate if you roster him.
Starling Marte (NYM): 2-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB, SB.
Age may be catching up with Marte’s power production, but it sure isn’t limiting him on the basepaths. The Mets’ right fielder has just a .340 slugging percentage and five home runs this year but is making up for it with his 22 stolen bases. Marte’s .306 BABIP and .074 ISO are both career lows, and it’s showing in his 86 wRC+. That’s 50 points lower than it was last year.
Byron Buxton (MIN): 3-4, HR, 3 R, RBI, SB.
Buxton flashed his elite tools yesterday by blasting his 15th home run and swiping his eighth stolen base of the year. He’s hitting .216/.306/.457 this year, and you’d be a whole lot more excited to roster him if his batting average could get back near his career .240 mark.
Wander Franco (TB): 2-4, HR, R, RBI, SB.
Franco seemed like one of the biggest All-Star snubs, but he was named to the American League squad as an injury replacement yesterday and celebrated by posting a combo meal. The Rays’ budding superstar was one of the only hitters that could touch Aaron Nola, and he’s up to 10 home runs and 27 stolen bases in his breakout first half.
Corey Julks (HOU): 4-5, 2B, RBI, SB.
Julks collected the first four-hit game of his career yesterday, notching three of them against Kyle Freeland. With Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez on the IL, Julks has filled in admirably. His .274/.318/.403 batting line comes out to a 100 wRC+, and getting that kind of production from a depth piece speaks to the impressive quality of the Astros’ player development system.