Stanton Tall
Giancarlo Stanton (NYY): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Perhaps there’s still something here. The Bronx’s other Bash Brother has not been doing much bashing this season—after an extended stay on the IL due to epicondylitis (also known as tennis elbow), Stanton came back swinging on June 16th with four hits in his first two games. But after that promising start, he went 4-for-30 with zero XBH’s. Yankees fans (and fantasy owners) were wondering if his time had come and gone.
After years of battling injuries that have allowed him to play in more than 114 games just once since 2018, Stanton had a bit of a resurgence last year with 27 homers in just over 400 at-bats and an RBI pace that would’ve topped 100 over a full season. Now 35 and with a broken-down body that produces just a 2nd-percentile sprint speed, Stanton has become a three-outcome specialist, where the third outcome has been lacking.
But not last night. Batting cleanup against Logan Gilbert, Stanton looked overmatched in his first appearance, striking out on three pitches (he only swung the bat once). In his second at-bat, he struck out again, though this time it took four pitches and two whiffs. Then in the sixth inning, with both Judge and Bellinger on base, Gilbert made a mistake and Stanton turned it into a costly one, mashing an absolute tater the opposite way.
Stanton is known for slow starts, and this has certainly been one of them. But there are only a couple of players who can hit the ball 118 mph with 80-mph bat speed. Stanton’s going to have his ups and downs, but even at more down than up he still nets decent run production. If the rust continues to wear off, he’s well worth an add in a categories league.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday
Ryan Jeffers (MIN): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Always underrated because he doesn’t get enough plate appearances, Jeffers does everything well (or at least, pretty good). He strikes out less than 20% of the time, has decent on-base skills with an 11.4% walk rate, and all his other metrics are at least around league average. He hits well against pitchers on both sides of the rubber and hasn’t been on the IL since 2022. So why does he not get the respect he deserves? Jeffers only totaled 68 at-bats in June, and July wasn’t looking much better, but maybe last night’s performance will help in the form of three hits that included a homer and a 110-mph RBI double. Sure, he’s not the best defensive catcher, and the Twins have lots of DH candidates. But he’s batting .400 on the month with a 1.105 OPS, which warrants more than the 400 ABs a season the club gives him.
Pete Alonso (NYM): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
After starting the season as the hottest hitter in the National League, Alonso cooled off in May with a .234/.282/.411 slash line. He picked things up in June with a .920 OPS, and July looks just as solid, with two homers in just 21 at-bats. Alonso is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career, but he is uncharacteristically struggling against lefties with a lowest-ever OPS (it’s still over .800, so don’t panic). He didn’t have to face a lefty in this one, however, and RHP Bryan Baker tried throwing two consecutive sliders past him. In clutch fashion, Alonso blasted the second offering to the opposite field for a game-tying two-run dinger. All of Alonso’s metrics look stellar, and he should have no problem eclipsing last year’s total of 34 home runs—the .300 xBA and 55.3% hard-hit rate are easily his highest marks in seven MLB seasons.
Jac Caglianone (KCR): 1-4, HR, R, RBI.
Other than his two-homer night on June 19th, Cags has faced quite the learning curve in the majors, enduring a stretch in July where he batted just .120 with a .468 OPS. The heralded prospect is still getting plugged into the lineup regularly as the Royals hope he figures things out (and they need him as they rank 26th in slugging). Fantasy owners have faced the same dilemma. Fortunately for both, Mitch Keller dangled a changeup over the heart of the plate, and Cags hammered it 114 mph to right-center for his first home run in KC’s home park. Despite the low average, the rookie isn’t striking out a ton (21.8%, though his whiff rate suggests that should be higher) and has 90th-percentile bat speed. Still, his decision-making has been lacking and doesn’t appear to be trending in the right direction. He has all the physical tools, but has work to do to become a professional hitter.
Trevor Story (BOS): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Meet the hottest hitter in baseball. Story’s hitting .414 on the month and has 34 RBIs in his last 33 games as he puts a miserable May (.158/.200/.232) behind him. For a while, Story looked like he might become a part-time player, with a nearly 40% K-rate in the early going. He’s only striking out 13% of the time in July, though, and must be seeing beach balls come out of the pitcher’s hands. Boston has been re-tooling their lineup with the departure of Rafael Devers, but some players have raised their game, Story being one of them (Roman Anthony is another). Story’s becoming a middle-of-the-order mainstay in a still-decent offense and should be owned everywhere.
Jarren Duran (BOS): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Another part of Boston’s lineup shakeup, the Red Sox announced that Duran lost his leadoff role against lefties, as he’s hitting just .216 against them with a .245 OBP. His overall OBP has barely been clearing .300 all year, which is more than shaky for a table-setting hitter, but the move might have been the jolt he needed. In 26 July at-bats, Duran’s batting .320 and scoring plenty of runs. This season’s been a disappointment compared to his 20/30 output last year (his OPS is over 100 points lower than 2024’s) and he’s hardly lived up to his third-round ADP, but there’s time to turn things around and finish with a top-100 season (just don’t expect much more than that). Still a big concern: he’s only stolen two bases since May 26th.
Lawrence Butler (ATH): 2-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB.
Butler had a monster second half last year (13 homers and 12 steals after the All-Star Break) and he might just do it again. He’s hitting .350 in July with a 1.158 OPS and closing in on a 20/20 season. Butler’s striking out a bit more this year than last (27.3% to 23.9%), and his decision-making and whiff rate suggest last year was the anomaly, but he hits the ball hard enough to make up for it. It also helps to be in the Sacramento AAA ballpark, which has both short dimensions and angled walls in the outfield. Butler took advantage of the latter when leading off last night, as a carom off the right-centerfield wall allowed him to round the bases for an inside-the-park home run. He’d follow it up with a homer the old-fashioned way, a 421-foot shot to straightaway center that would have gone out in 26/30 ballparks.
Nick Kurtz (ATH): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.
Kurtz’s OPS by month: .490 in April, .851 in May, .926 in June, .982 in July. Yeah, this one might be special. The only problem might be that he’s having a hard time with lefties, with a 40% K-rate against them and a .226 OBP. It makes for a nearly 500-point difference in his OPS splits (.487 to .969). Kurtz is still near the bottom of the league in Whiffs and K’s (second and first percentile, respectively), but he’s also barreling at a 16.5% rate, walking 10% of the time, and generally getting better every day. That includes the Grand Slam he mashed last night, a 108.5 mph bomb off the 41-year-old Jesse Chavez. Kurtz might be the second coming of Kyle Schwarber.
Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI, SB.
Speaking of…at 36 stolen bases in his eleven-year career, Schwarber isn’t exactly known for his face-melting speed. But with the swipe last night he now has five steals in the last month and nine on the season. It’s just icing on the cake in what’s been a career year for the Phillies slugger. He might have gotten a little greedy, though, in trying to steal third on a 3-0 count to Bryce Harper, and Schwarber was easily thrown out by Giants catcher Patrick Bailey. His homer was more impressive—in the seventh inning, Schwarber put a ball into McCovey Cove with a 402-foot bomb down the right-field line.
