Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 5-6, 2B, 3 HR, 4 R, 6 RBI.

Chicken Schwarba

Yesterday was a day that Kyle Schwarber will likely never forget. The Phillies’ sweet-swinging lefty put together one of the best offensive lines of the season and maybe his entire career, posting a 5-6, 2B, 3 HR, 4 R, 6 RBI line while showing off his flair for the dramatic.

Schwarber is well known for his performance on the game’s biggest stages. He’s homered in every single round of the playoffs (ALWC, NLWC, ALDS, NLDS, ALCS, NLCS, and WS) AND the championship game of the World Baseball Classic. The man is made to play under the bright lights.

Tuesday’s game in Toronto didn’t exactly have the lofty stakes that Schwarber is so well known for, but he still showed up huge when his team needed him. Schwarber opened the scoring with a leadoff homer against Chris Bassitt and tagged the Blue Jays’ starter twice more with a third-inning double and another solo shot in the fourth. Schwarber added an RBI single in the seventh to bring the Phillies back within one, and then delivered his biggest blow of the game in the ninth: a three-run, go-ahead missile that he nuked 114.4 mph and 426 feet.

KYLE SCHWARBER, THIRD HOME RUN OF THE GAME FOR THE LEAD 😮 pic.twitter.com/DWw6ilavdf

— MLB (@MLB) September 4, 2024

There’s something absolutely beautiful about a ball crushed so hard that the outfielder doesn’t even move. It’s probably my favorite genre of baseball highlight. And happening in the ninth inning on a go-ahead blast? Chef’s kiss.

Schwarber’s monster night brings his season totals to 31 HR, 92 R, 88 RBI, 5 SB, and a .245 batting average. His 133 wRC+ is the second-highest of his career, trailing only the 2021 season he split between Washington and Boston. He may not reach the 40-homer plateau as he did each of the last two years, but he’s putting together a phenomenal season regardless. Schwarber is top 20 in home runs, runs, RBI, and wRC+.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:

Francisco Lindor (NYM): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, SB.

Lindor’s doing everything he can to get MVP consideration opposite Shohei Ohtani’s likely 50/50 season. Yesterday the Mets’ superstar collected his seventh combo meal of the campaign. Lindor achieved liftoff for the 30th time this year by turning on a Kutter Crawford up-and-in kutter™ and muscling it just over the right-field wall. He later swiped his 26th base of the year, taking third after an eighth-inning double. Lindor’s slashing .277/.364/.531 and his 7.2 fWAR is the most in the National League.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR): 4-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Schwarber wasn’t the only one who had a big night in Toronto. Guerrero did all he could to bring the home fans a win, but it wasn’t enough. Remember early this season when the baseball community was collectively wondering if Vladdy was really just an average player after a down 2023 and slow start to 2024? Well, his 171 wRC+ is fourth best in baseball while his .408 wOBA ranks fifth. He’s homered 28 times and his strikeout rate has never been better. I think he’s still pretty dang good.

Paul Goldschmidt (STL): 3-5, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI, SB.

Don’t look now, but Goldschmidt has finally started turning his season around. The 2022 NL MVP has struggled pretty much all year long, but finally broke the 100 wRC+ threshold after his three-hit combo meal yesterday. Even though the rate stats haven’t been up to par for the veteran first baseman, he’s up to 21 home runs and nine steals, so he should finish near a 25/10 season. I’m really interested to see both how much interest he garners on the free agent market and where fantasy players will be taking him in drafts next spring.

Brayan Rocchio (CLE): 1-1, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.

It’s not often you see someone make a Batter’s Box write-up with just one official at-bat, but that can happen when you’re in the nine-hole. Rocchio started his day with a sac fly, was hit by a pitch in the fifth, delivered some insurance with a two-run blast in the seventh, and worked a bases-loaded walk in the eighth for his fourth RBI. Rocchio’s still starting most days for Cleveland but with a .211/.298/.319 slash line in 381 plate appearances, it seems like he has a tenuous hold on the starting shortstop gig.

Keibert Ruiz (WSN): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.

After hitting .260 with 18 home runs in his second season as a full-time big leaguer, Ruiz was a sneaky value pick as your fantasy team’s second catcher this spring, but the Nationals’ backstop hasn’t been able to recreate his strong 2023 campaign. Ruiz has seen his batting average fall to a career-worst .222, and although he’s still not striking out much, his 3% walk rate is the second-lowest mark of any hitter with at least 400 plate appearances (Only Ceddanne Rafaela walks less often). Ruiz’s wRC+ has cratered, falling from 94 in 2023 to a disappointing 69.

Wyatt Langford (TEX): 1-5, HR, R, 4 RBI.

Sometimes all it takes is one big swing to make or break your day. Langford stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth seeing 0-for-4 with a pair of punchouts next to his name on the scoreboard, but that’s not how he’ll remember the game. Facing Clay Holmes with the bases juiced, Langford won a seven-pitch battle, eventually turning on a slider that stayed too close to the heart of the plate and launching it 407 feet into the Texas night. It hasn’t been the stellar rookie year that many expected from Langford, but he’s hovered near league-average production with 10 homers and 12 steals, so there’s nothing here that should deter your view of Langford in the long run.

Anthony Santander (BAL): 2-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

It wasn’t Santander’s strong stat line that was the most notable part of the Orioles/White Sox game. Nope, not the White Sox going full White Sox either. The big news was Alex Fast, vaunted Pitcher List alumnus, spending the game providing excellent analysis in the O’s broadcast booth. Back to the also notable Santander, though. The switch-hitting outfielder provided an early jolt of energy with a first-inning RBI double and capped off the scoring with a ninth-inning sac fly.  Santander has already set a career-high with 39 home runs. It’s going to be fun to see just how high he’ll go.

Randal Grichuk (ARI): 3-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.

Grichuk has caught fire in September, going 7-for-11 to start the final month of the regular season. Yesterday he got the better of Kyle Harrison and Tristan Beck in the Dbacks 8-7 win in San Francisco. Grichuk’s an interesting stream against left-handed starters, but that’s a hard profile to use properly in most fantasy formats aside from DFS.

Carlos Santana (MIN): 2-3, HR, R, RBI, BB.

Every year I think we’ve seen the last of Santana and every year I’m wrong. The 38-year-old first baseman just keeps chugging along. He pounced on a Jeffrey Springs four-seamer, powering the fastball 395 feet for his 19th big fly of the season and providing the Twins’ with their lone run of the contest. If someone had told me that Santana would be the most consistent part of the Minnesota lineup this year, there’s no way I would’ve believed them, but here we are. His strikeout, walk, and chase rate are all 75th+ percentile. I can’t wait to be wrong again next year.

Josh Jung (TEX): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, SB.

Jung didn’t have the walk-off grand slam like Langford did, but he ordered a combo meal in the Rangers’ 7-4 win over the Bronx Bombers. Injuries have limited the young third baseman to 139 plate appearances, and the results haven’t been what we hoped. His .750 OPS is above average, but with big power in his bat, you were certainly hoping for more from Jung. If he puts together a strong September, it’ll go a long way in easing any concerns fantasy managers may have entering 2025. He still has good hard-hit and squared-up rates, but it’d be nice to see his 9.4% barrel rate climb a bit before the season wraps up.