DJ Crazy Times

DJ Stewart (NYM): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

All of the dream. How does it mean? When the rhythm is glad there is nothing to be sad. I can’t say too much of the same for the Mets season, but like DJ Crazy Times’ energetic optimism, DJ Stewart has been a spark for the Mets the last few days.

Yesterday, he swatted two home runs, a 387-foot shot in his first at-bat, and a 398-foot bomb in the fifth inning. He added a 102 mph flyout later in the game that was close but just short of a third. Stewart also crushed a 409-foot homer the day before coming off the bench in the seventh inning, while adding a hard-hit single in his final at-bat in the ninth.

Stewart has been up with the Mets since the start of July but had made sparse appearances until after the deadline. The Mets sold off their top starters, but also a handful of role players like Mark Cahna and Tommy Pham whom Stewart has been tasked to replace.

DJ Stewart spent some time in Baltimore where he got 318 plate appearances in 2021 swatting 12 dingers with a 94 wRC+. He has some pop, as shown the last couple games, but nothing has been a stable success in the big leagues. There is no reason he won’t hang on to this opportunity in New York for the rest of the year as they need anyone that can field and swing a bat. With this regular playing time, his hard hits are stacking up (seven in his last four games), so he should be plugged into that Mets lineup at least for the near future.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Wednesday

Christian Walker (ARI): 3-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB.

Walker put on a show yesterday with two 425-plus-foot bombs while adding a single and two walks, reaching base a total of five times. He has been absolutely scorching with five dingers in his last five games. Not just in these last week, Walker has had a solid performance since the All Star break. He is slashing .303/.389/.642 with a 170 wRC+ since the break.

Riley Greene (DET): 3-4, 3B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

Riley Greene was just a double shy of the cycle yesterday, smoking the ball all around the field. He had a 111.4 mph home run that soared 448 feet. He also laced a 104 mph triple and a 382-foot fly ball that ended up a sac fly. Greene’s had an excellent season but was sidelined for over a month with a leg fracture. Since his return, he’s sporting a .331/.379/.570 slash which was not much different from what he had been doing prior to the injury. He is crushing the ball with a ton (29%!) of line drives. But a BABIP over .400 is still tough to keep up and a 50% ground ball rate and 24% fly ball rate won’t keep him as productive either.

Spencer Torkelson (DET): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Mr. Tork Torkelson once again. Another two home run game I get to write about. In between, he had three games with no hits but added a four-hit game with a homer and another game with one home run. Yesterday, he crushed two, a 432-foot bomb and a 405-foot dinger. He also added two hard hit outs on top of that. He is turning things up a notch.

Matt McLain (CIN): 3-5, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI, 2 SB.

McLain had a day at the plate, plating himself a combo meal with two steals. He crushed four hard hits, one a 372-foot double in the first, and then a 377-foot homer in the fourth. With so many rookies to choose from, McLain has blossomed into the top performer this year for the Reds. He now has 13 home runs and 11 steals in 353 plate appearances with a 130 wRC+.  He’s striking out just shy of 30% of the time with a .392 BABIP and a 25% line drive rate. He’s hitting the ball well when he does make contact.

Zack Gelof (OAK): 4-5, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI, SB.

One of Oakland’s top prospects, Zack Gelof was called up after the All Star break and he has not stopped hitting. After last night’s four-hit affair, Gelof is now slashing .294/.353/.633 with a 171 wRC+ in 119 plate appearances. He’s maintained an absurdly high line drive rate (close to 30%) and has a sub-30% ground ball rate as well. His K rate has remained at the level he had it in the minors (just under 30%) which is a good sign of managing big league pitching.

Brendan Rodgers (COL): 2-4, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB.

Rodgers kicked off his game with a 393-foot double that would have been a home run in 22 other parks. Rodgers returned from the 60-day IL at the end of July from a torn right labrum. He has not hit particularly well so far but he has two multi-hit games in his last three. He also has been hitting in the heart of the Colorado lineup. There is still a lot to prove before making any roster moves.

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

Harper hasn’t been making his normal Harper impact this year after coming back to hit after Tommy John. However, the power looks to be returning. He crushed a 412 and a 404-foot bomb while adding a 112 mph single. He has a .150 ISO on the season but since the break he has a .224 ISO with a .517 SLG. His hard-hit rate is up again closer to his usual 50% as well.

Stone Garrett (WSH): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

After striking out in his first at-bat of the game, Garrett demolished the ball. He smoked a 415-foot solo shot and then added a 442-foot shot in the eighth. In between, he laced a 109 mph grounder that ended as an out. Garrett, sadly, isn’t playing every day but his hard-hit rate is nearly 50% with only a 33.3% ground ball rate. The downside is his 31% K rate. However, he has a five-game hit streak with only a 24% K rate after a rough 67-plate appearance stretch with a 37% K rate and 82 wRC+.

Julio Rodríguez (SEA): 4-6, 2B, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB.

After a so-so first few months, Julio has turned on the jets. Up until the end of June, Rodríguez had a 100 wRC+, albeit with 13 home runs and 18 steals. However, since the start of July, he is slashing .306/.362/.494 with a 139 wRC+, six dingers and 12 stolen bases in 185 plate appearances. He added four hits and two steals last night reaching 30 on the year. Not much of his peripherals have changed since last season, so this uptick in productivity is a refreshing change.

Royce Lewis (MIN): 3-4, 2B, RBI, BB, SB.

Lewis had been out of the lineup for about six weeks due to a left oblique strain. He returned on August 15th and had a single with a run and RBI. Yesterday he added three hits with a double, walk, and stolen base. He had three hard hits all over 105 mph. Lewis had quite a run in June before his injury, and he seems to be picking up right where he left off.

Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire | Featured Image by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)