Jazz Festival
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY): 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, SB.
In this edition of Batter’s Box, we’re going to look at some players who might be driving your playoff push and possibly be first-rounders next year.
First up is Jazz, who smacked a pair of homers last night (including a bomb off Framber Valdez) and stole a base. Chisholm is now up to 28 on the season with an SLG almost 70 points higher than last year to go along with his 26 swipes.
Had he not missed an entire month with an oblique issue, Chisholm might be knocking on 35/35 (and could still get to 30/30). A four-category stud (the 27.4% K-rate suppresses his batting average), he’s on a 162-game pace for 200 combined runs to go with the power and speed numbers.
So, what’s he doing differently this year? One thing—perhaps due to the improved lineup around him—he’s learned how to take a walk. Known to chase, Chisholm has improved his plate discipline and averages a career-high 4.1 pitches per appearance, resulting in an 87th-percentile 12.3% walk rate (his career average was around 8%).
The other thing: power. In 2025, Chisholm is sporting a 16.2% barrel rate (compared to last year’s 9.7%) for a .526 xSLG, a 70-point jump over 2024.
And let’s be honest, Yankee Stadium has been kind. There are only five other parks where he would have hit more homers, and all but two of his dingers have been pulled to some degree, where New York’s right field is a short porch. That said, he was playing in Houston last night, and both his homers would have gone out anywhere. And given the chart below, his power has only grown as the season goes on, so he’s got league-winner written all over him.
He might go in the top 15 in drafts next year and would be worth the price.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:
Pete Alonso (NYM): 1-1, HR, R, RBI.
Alonso finished August with nine homers and 29 RBIs, and if this performance is any indication, September might be even better. After a miserable July when he batted just .141, the Polar Bear is getting hotter as summer cools down. Facing Sawyer Gipson-Long in the first inning, Alonso unleashed an absolute tank (he had the green light on a 3-0 count) at 112.5 mph to center field. Then in the seventh, after Soto crushed his homer, Alonso dropped another tater into the bullpen. Alonso needs six more homers to reach 40 this season—with just over 20 games to play, he can do it. It’s fair to wonder if his .268 average and 125 RBIs will warrant first-round consideration next season, around where Vlad Jr. went this year.
James Wood (WSN): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.
And is the first round too high for James Wood? Maybe it’s a stretch until he improves on his 31.3% K-rate, but he’s still emerging as a breakout star at just 22. Yeah, the strikeouts have piled up, and Wood’s been slumping a bit the last couple of months (he had a .188 Batting Average and .563 OPS in July), but his metrics show tremendous potential with just one fixable problem: he misses the ball a lot. Wood has already taken a huge step forward, and even if he doesn’t reach 30/20 this season (he only has one steal since July 21, so that part of his game has dissipated), he’ll still be a solid second-rounder in 2026.
Junior Caminero (TBR): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI.
That’s now 40 taters for La Maxima, who has surpassed all expectations for his second-year breakout season. Caminero tormented Mariners’ ace Bryan Woo with three hard-hit balls and drove in four of Tampa’s six runs. Though he’s been great all season, he seems to have found another gear with 16 homers since the All-Star Break, hitting for power to all fields. He’ll be another player worth considering in the first round, but might go a few picks after the turn around where Yordan Alvarez went this year.
George Springer (TOR): 3-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB.
And that’s two months in a row where Springer’s finished with an above-1.000 OPS, and he might just do it in September as well. After an okay first 60 games, Springer has vaulted into top-25 territory with monster productivity ever since, including 15 homers since July 1 (and he was out a couple of weeks with a concussion). He’s going to be another league winner for a lot of players, especially given his 234 ADP, and just might be this year’s fantasy MVP.
Bo Bichette (TOR): 1-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
He’s not just the Bo Bichette of old this season—he’s something more. Bichette’s on pace for a career high in doubles, RBIs, and hits, and his K-rate is easily a career low at 14.5% (he had a career average above 20% before this year). You can toss out last year’s .225 average and .599 OPS as the outlier of outliers, and savvy drafters who reached a bit for him have been rewarded. His five-category days might be gone for good (though he once had 25 steals in a season, his sprint speed is now in the 20th percentile), but he’s a stud everywhere else and might just win a batting title.
Nathaniel Lowe (BOS): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.
Twelve games into his career with Boston, things are looking pretty good for Nathaniel Lowe. After being released from the Nationals two weeks ago, the Red Sox picked him up off the scrap heap and installed him as the starting first baseman against righties. All he’s done since is mash with a .333 batting average, seven extra-base hits, and a .973 OPS. What’s changed? Lowe is averaging nearly half a pitch less per at-bat than he did in Washington, and this newfound aggression appears to be paying dividends. Still, the Red Sox are keeping him in a strict platoon—as soon as a lefty came to the hill, Lowe was benched for a pinch-hitter.
Austin Hays (CIN): 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
The overperformance of Austin Hays continues. With an expected Batting Average almost 30 points higher than his actual number, and an expected SLG more than 40 points higher, Hays is enjoying the good fortune of Great American Ball Park (though his .324 BABIP isn’t too crazy). Sporting his best ISO since 2021, Hays is a solid-but-boring all-around player who gets his numbers and doesn’t do anything special. Still, he’s on a 162-game pace to top 100 RBIs. He’s also got five triples in less than 90 games, impressive for a hitter with average speed.
Kyle Tucker (CHC): 1-2, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Tucker’s been mired in a summer slump (later revealed to be the result of a small fracture in his right hand), but as his health improves, so does his game. Though he had only four homers going back to June 28th, the 102-mph oppo shot he hit last night should make his owners breathe a sigh of relief. Having already reached the 20/20 mark, he is still within reach of a 25/30 season, which should keep him within first-round consideration next year (and he didn’t have the fracture, he would have finished within the top five overall hitters).
Andrew Benintendi (CHW): 4-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI.
Okay, no one will confuse Benintendi for a first-rounder next season, but he did have perhaps the best night of all. Usually a decent plug-and-play against lefties, Benintendi did all his damage against RHPs with a 107-mph big fly off Simeon Woods Richardson to lead off the second inning, and followed it with a 104-mph homer off of Noah Davis. In between, he chipped in a pair of singles, one of which also eclipsed 100 mph. He’s not a must-add by any means, but if you’re looking to ride a hot streak, Benintendi might be able to keep this up for a few more games.
