Swing Jazz

Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was swinging for the fences on Wednesday, blasting a pair of HRs to back Cam Schlittler’s MLB debut and propel the Yankees to a 9-6 win over the Mariners. His 16th and 17th homers of the season, Chisholm has had a remarkable past month, hitting .306/.381/.613 with nine HRs in his last 30 games. Chisholm is barreling up balls at a career-high rate (18.4%), walking at an easily career-high rate of 11.4%, and should easily eclipse his career-high of 24 HRs, set in 2024. Although it doesn’t look like he will match his 40 steals of last season, Chisholm is certainly reaping the benefits of his trade from Miami to the Bronx.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Wednesday:

 

Bryce Harper (PHI): 4-6, HR, 3 2B, 3 R, RBI.

Bryce Harper has been off the IL for over a week now, but he finally looked like his old self with a monster four-hit game against Justin Verlander and the Giants in Philadelphia’s blowout 13-0 win. Harper added three doubles to his fourth inning HR, as the 32-year-old looks to get back on track before the All-Star Break.

 

Junior Caminero (TB): 2-5, HR, 2 R, RBI.

Junior Caminero celebrated being named to the 2025 Home Run Derby by smashing a 398-foot no-doubter for his 22nd HR of the year. The shot moved Caminero into a tie with Riley Greene for third in the AL in HRs, and the recently turned 22-year-old is living up to the massive preseason hype that surrounded him.

 

Randy Arozarena (SEA): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Randy Arozarena has been absolutely crushing the ball in July, and he now has five HRs in just eight games this month. The 30-year-old is now up to 15 HRs and 15 SBs, and he could reach 30/30 this season after getting exactly 20/20 in 2024.

 

Jarren Duran (BOS): 2-4, HR, 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB.

Jarren Duran put the icing on the cake for Boston’s 10-2 win over Colorado with a three-run HR in the bottom of the eighth. The HR was only Duran’s eighth of the season, but he is heating up lately, hitting .385/.407/.808 in the last seven games.

 

Noelvi Marte (CIN): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.

The Reds got after Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara early and often on Wednesday, including a two-run HR from third baseman Noelvi Marte, his fourth of the season. Marte is trying to recapture his brief run in 2023, when he hit .316/.366/.456 in 35 games with Cincinnati. The 23-year-old has been pretty good for the Reds when he’s been healthy this year, hitting .277/.330/.494 and nearly cutting his strikeout rate (16.5%) in half from last season (31.0%).

 

Nathaniel Lowe (WAS): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Nathaniel Lowe got the Nationals started in a big way with a three-run HR off Cardinals starter Andre Pallante in the first inning, and the team never looked back for an 8-2 win. Lowe has quietly been very good for Washington over the last month, hitting .268/.331/.500 with six HRs and 21 RBI after a slow first couple of months.

 

Salvador Perez (KC): 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Salvador Perez bookended the Royals’ 4-3 win over the Pirates with a pair of HRs, a solo shot off starter Bailey Falter in the second inning for a 1-0 lead, and a go-ahead solo HR off reliever Isaac Mattson in the eighth inning. Perez now has nine HRs over his last 30 games, and his 13 on the season are good for fourth among AL catchers.

 

José Ramírez (CLE): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB.

José Ramírez just continues to do it all on the diamond for Cleveland, hitting his 17th HR and stealing his 25th base for the 43-48 Guardians. Ho hum, just looking like another year of Ramirez approaching 40/40.

 

Marcus Semien (TEX): 1-3, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB.

Marcus Semien came through in the clutch for the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, hitting a go-ahead two-run HR off Reid Detmers in the seventh inning. Unfortunately, the Rangers were unable to hold on to the lead. After a brutal start to the season, Semien has picked it up a bit, but he is still well below his career norms and has not convinced me that he isn’t washed up at this point.

 

Mike Trout (LAA): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

Mike Trout is out to prove he will never be washed up, blasting a pair of HRs off Texas starter Kumar Rocker. With that said, Trout is actually having his worst full season in the majors, hitting just .233 and striking out at a 27.4% clip. The power is still very much there for the 33-year-old, however, as Wednesday’s performance indicates.

 

Geraldo Perdomo (ARI): 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB.

Geraldo Perdomo blew the game wide open for the Diamondbacks by ripping a 104.6 mph liner down the line for a Grand Slam off San Diego starter Dylan Cease. The 25-year-old shortstop is enjoying a career year for Arizona, hitting .267/.368/.415 with 10 HRs, 13 SBs, and walking at a higher rate (13.2%) than he is striking out (11.8%).

 

Ronald Acuña Jr., Jr. (ATL): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

If the Atlanta Braves are going to claw their way back into the NL playoff hunt, they are going to need Ronald Acuña Jr. to continue performing at the MVP level he is currently playing at. Acuna’s 194 wRC+ is the highest of his career and a full 23 points higher than his 41 HR, 73 SB season in 2023.

 

Drake Baldwin (ATL): 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Braves rookie catcher Drake Baldwin has quietly made a strong case for NL Rookie of the Year, and he bolstered his campaign by hitting a three-run HR in the first inning, his 11th of the season, which is good for third in baseball among rookies. Perhaps the most impressive part of Baldwin’s season is that he is hitting .278/.353/.489 while maintaining an outstanding 15.9 K%.