Ketel One on the double

Ketel Marte (ARI): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Ketel Marte kicked off the scoring in last night’s exciting 9-8 showdown against the Pirates with a bang, blasting a 95 mph heater from Luis Ortiz 420 feet to right that nearly cleared the second deck. His second big fly came in the ninth when he redirected a cutter from Dennis Santana 398 feet into the Allegheny River (398 feet, 101.2 EV) for what turned out to be a valuable insurance run.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been writing here for almost six years. Yes, I’m a little surprised Nick hasn’t kicked me out years ago. Anyway, the second article I wrote here in December 2018 was about Marte. At the time, I was unequivocally convinced of his imminent breakout. Coincidence or not, it happened. He hit a career-best 32 dingers that he’s never really approached again —until now.

Yes, I’m guilty of tooting my horn, but then again, it was five years ago, so that’s not really the point. This is all to say that, truthfully, I’ve never been as bullish about anything baseball-related since then. Back then, I was thunderstruck by Marte’s EVs as a right-handed hitter and thought, maybe, just maybe, if he figured out his left-handed swing, he could be, you know, this. And we saw it last night, two taters hit left-handed.

Believe me, I could flap my gums until the cows come home about Ketel Marte. But, thankfully, Kyle Bland is here to save us some time.

We aren’t talking enough about Ketel Marte pic.twitter.com/tWLT6OEhgH

— Kyle Bland (@blandalytics) August 1, 2024

Basically, he’s doing everything you want to see from a hitter. No kidding, Sherlock. He’s hitting .303 with a .923 OPS (ninth among qualifiers!). You know what I mean; the underlying stuff is all terrific. He’s the best second baseman in baseball and I will not tolerate any discussion about it. Fine, alright, maybe if you want to count Mookie. Altuve? Nah, no way, José.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday:

Oneil Cruz (PIT): 5-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB.

This might’ve been the game of the night if you like offense. Cruz started his perfect night at the dish with a seeing-eye groundball single past the glove of Eugenio Suárez that trickled down the third base line and into the left field corner for a double. At 48.1 mph, it was probably one of the lowest EVs you’ll ever see, especially from this guy.

With the game tied 6-6 in the sixth, Cruz smacked a 1-1 pitch from A.J. Puk that caromed off Marte’s glove for a single, plating Andrew McCutchen from second as the go-ahead run. His last hit was another groundball just under Marte’s glove and into right for a single. It wasn’t the loudest night in terms of EVs for Cruz, but wow, what a night. His first five-hit game brings his slash to .257/.309/.468. PLV has his power pegged at 134, just over two standard deviations above the league average.

Victor Robles (SEA): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB.

Robles turned Tyler Phillips from hero to zero in a heartbeat, socking his first pitch of the night 432 feet near Edgar’s Cantina in the left field corner (109.8 EV). Robles entered the season with a career .238 batting average and .671 OPS across 1,801 PA as a fizzled former top prospect. And now, here he is, giving the Mariners a breath of fresh air as their leadoff hitter as they scramble for a playoff spot. You’d figure the smart thing is to assume that Robles plays to the back of his baseball card. But he’s flashed significantly more thump this year, registering 106 power via PLV (100 is average) miles ahead of the 79 he posted two years ago, the last time he had a decent amount of playing time (407 PA). The homer last night was one of the best EVs we’ve seen from Robles, so hey, maybe there’s something here. Or maybe it’s a mirage.

Justin Turner hit a grand slam in his first game as a Mariner in T-Mobile Park, a 397-foot shot off Phillips in the second.

Anthony Volpe (NYY): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Volpe’s tenth home run was a 401-foot shot (101.4 EV) the other way to right off a 91.5 mph sinker from Kevin Gausman. Volpe came into the ASB with six home runs and a .666 OPS (uh-oh), with his lack of power being a talking point. In 13 games since the break, he’s hit four dingers with a 1.030 OPS. The sample size is a little small for me to get too excited about, but let’s see if he can keep it up.

Aaron Judge hit a 477-foot home run off Gausman for his 40th of the year and RBIs 100 and 101. He’s having a decent year.

Tyler Fitzgerald (SFG): 3-5, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Fitz keeps on mashing for the Giants. He lifted a hanging slider from Nick Martinez 391 feet to left (99 EV) for his tenth home run of the season. He’s hitting .313 with a 1.004 OPS across 140 PA. However, the 30% K rate could make him a potential sell-high candidate.

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

Rodgers’ eighth home run of the year came against Randy Vásquez, breaking a scoreless tie in the second. I’ll admit, I really want to ignore everyone on the Rockies outside of Michael Toglia, Ryan McMahon, Brenton Doyle, and Ezequiel Tovar. Still, Rodgers is at least a decent streamer when the Rockies are home. According to PLV, he’s shown average contact ability (101) and power (103; 251 BBE).

Joey Loperfido (TOR): 2-4, 3B, 2 R.

For whatever reason, the Astros seemed reluctant to give Loperfido a decent amount of at-bats. Maybe they were on to something. Still, he’ll get a chance to prove himself with the Jays playing out the string. The 25-year-old left-hander slugged 13 home runs, stole 9 bases, and posted a .933 OPS across 39 games with Triple-A Sugar Land.

Justyn-Henry Malloy (DET): 2-2, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.

The 24-year-old rookie right-hander bashed a 92 mph sinker from Cole Ragans (someone check on Nick) for his eighth home run (403 feet, 103.8 EV). Malloy’s contact ability is a big red flag (73 via PLV), but the Tigers are giving him an extended look. He hit .253 with a 20% BB rate, 26.7% K rate, and a .884 OPS across 45 games with Triple-A Toledo earlier this year.

Xavier Edwards (MIA): 2-4, R, 2 SB.

Edwards’ roster percentage has skyrocketed (68% on Yahoo), but if you’re in a shallow league, check your wire. He’s unlikely to hit for much, if any, power, but he’s stolen 11 bases and hit .382 since becoming a regular with the Marlins on July 2nd. You might remember Edwards as the subject of Blake Snell’s slapdick prospects comment back in the winter of 2019 when the Rays shipped Tommy Pham to the Padres.

The Marlins continue to be a two-man band, with Jake Burger being the other member, lifting his 16th of the season. He’s slashing .298/.365/.628 over his last 25 games.

Josh Bell (ARI): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Lost in my soliloquy about Marte was Mr. Bell, who torched his former club with two taters. He was picked up in a last-second deadline deal with the Marlins after being put on waivers and will be a regular after the D-backs lost Christian Walker, who was having a phenomenal year, to an oblique injury. He’s not exciting, but Bell could be a pretty decent CI in deep leagues. At the very least, getting out of Miami should help.

Joc Pederson also went yard for the D-backs. He doesn’t play against LHP but he’s having one heck of a year with a career-best .921 OPS, which would be just behind Marte for 10th among qualifiers.

Corey Seager (TEX): 3-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.

Last year’s World Series MVP torched Kutter Crawford twice, the second being a solo shot in the third that broke a 2-2 tie (409 feet, 106.5 EV). The results haven’t been as great as last year, but his batted ball data is terrific (119 power via PLV). There’s no reason he can’t be a top-five hitter (ignoring SBs) the rest of the way.

Royce Lewis (MIN): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB

We should probably put an asterisk beside every big game against the White Sox. Still, Lewis went yard for the second time since coming off the IL (408 feet, 105.7 EV). Injuries have deprived us of Lewis again this year, but his power is off the charts (127; 81 BBE).

Byron Buxton continued his recent rampage, launching his 14th of the year. He’s slashing .329/.405/.700 over his last 20 games. Twins leadoff man Willi Castro hit his eighth.

 

Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X)