‘Tis the Season to Own Raleigh
Cal Raleigh (SEA): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Cal Raleigh made history on Sunday, tying and then breaking the record for most home runs in a season with his 48th and 49th blasts of 2025 off a dazed and confused Jacob Lopez. The Big Dumper is now leading Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber by four home runs, and is second in the league in RBIs with 106, three behind Schwarber. Raleigh’s final line was 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, another magical moment in a season full of them for the 27-year-old.
Raleigh’s Process+ numbers have actually been slipping lately since the All-Star break (Home Run Derby curse, anyone?), and some of his lowest contact and decision-making metrics of the season are evident not only in the chart below, but also in his .222/.295/.530 slash line over the past 30 days. Still, his power metrics are alive and well, and have been high throughout the season, as Raleigh keeps finding a way to crush balls over the wall.
The interesting conversation is not about how Cal Raleigh will help your team for the rest of 2025 — spoiler alert, the future AL MVP will help your team in the stretch run — but rather how high will Big Dumper go next year in drafts? Check out where he went in a way-too-early draft this past week by some of the best in the high-stakes world. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at the tail end of the first in many home leagues come March.
The Too Early Meatball Draft pod, live pick by pick for 11 rounds of a 2026 @TheReal_NFC Draft Championshttps://t.co/bqb0toeR8f pic.twitter.com/1Bi18HLz3v
— Rob DiPietro (@deadpullhitter) August 22, 2025
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday:
Freddie Freeman (LAD): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
Freeman had a double-dinger Sunday, helping the Dodgers to an 8-2 win over the Padres. While the Dodgers have been up-and-down lately, including the mediocre performances of many of their players, Freeman keeps chugging on with consistent production, especially in the ratio department.
Trent Grisham (NYY): 2-2, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Grisham decided to fill the box score with twos on Sunday Night Baseball against Boston, clubbing two homers off of Dustin May. Grisham’s homers seem to come in spurts and are mostly of the solo variety, as his 25 home runs to 50 RBI ratio attests. He is finding his power stroke lately, hitting .262/.348/.508 over the past two weeks.
Spencer Steer (CIN): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Steer is having a forgettable season, especially for all the fantasy managers who drafted him, expecting more than his 16 home runs. Steer’s 2025 is not getting any better, hitting .186/.282/.382 over the past month. Chalk this up to an anomaly and not as any indication that Steer is back or can help your fantasy team.
Jared Triolo (PIT): 2-2, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB, SB.
A combo meal for Jared Triolo, which helped… checks notes… absolutely no one in fantasy. It’s nice to see the Pirates get some offense going, though, especially on a Paul Skenes day. Triolo has homers in two straight games, a five-game hitting streak, and no fantasy value. Let’s move on.
Gunnar Henderson (BAL): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB.
Gunnar collected a sock and two shoes, pushing his season totals to 16 HR and 19 SB, respectively. The 19 stolen bases are two off his career high of 21 last season. Unfortunately, his 2024 home run total of 37 is nowhere near his 2025 output. Henderson hopes to finish the season strong, hitting .286/.364/.554 over his last 15 games, and riding a six-game hit streak.
Riley Greene (DET): 1-2, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB.
Riley Greene continues his breakout 2025, with another homer and three runs for the Tigers. The 24-year-old now has 31 jacks on the season and has emerged as a true fantasy star. Case in point: remember the way-too-early 2026 fantasy draft I linked to above? Greene went in the third round ahead of long-time fantasy stars Yordan Alvarez and Mookie Betts, and right behind Freddie Freeman and Bryce Harper. The changing of the guard is underway.
Jakob Marsee (MIA): 2-4, 2B, 3B, R, 3 RBI.
This come-out-nowhere league-winner keeps on hitting, adding a double, a triple, and three RBI to his season stats, collecting nine RBI over the week, and getting a hit in each game. If his Statcast numbers qualified, he would be near the 100th percentile in almost all categories, which is wild. That also means that regression is on its way. Probably. I mean, his xBA is .331 compared to his actual .346 BA, and his xSLG is .596 compared to his actual .705 SLG. Look, Marsee shouldn’t bottom out, but he also won’t keep hitting like Babe Ruth forever. Still, he should be universally owned and started in fantasy baseball at this point.
Vinnie Pasquantino (KCR): 2-5, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Vinnie P keeps on hitting homers, hitting his sixth in seven games, after taking a one-day break on Saturday from all his recent baseball-crushing activities. Suddenly, Pasquantino has 28 homers going into the end of August, and looks to keep the momentum going into September. It’s nice to see it all coming together for him after struggling with injuries early on in his career.
Jacob Wilson (ATH): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Guess who’s back! Jacob Wilson is, and he hit a homer for the A’s in his third game back off the IL after missing just over two weeks of action. He doesn’t seem rusty at all, hitting 5-for-12 with three runs, three RBI, and one homer in those three games. He’s only 59% rostered in Yahoo! as many managers made the poor decision to jettison him instead of holding him through his injury. Fantasy managers seem to respect sluggers over players like Wilson, but there’s a treasure trove of fantasy value (read: ratios and stats!) in Wilson’s game. Pick him up and get him back in your lineup!
