We’re now halfway through June, and many players have taken a huge step forward this month. However, some trends are more sustainable than others, and that’s what we’ll be analyzing in this piece. These three players have been exceptional as of late, but can they keep it up?
Bryce Eldridge, 1B, SF
After a slow start with inconsistent playing time over his first three weeks in the majors this season, Bryce Eldridge really started to put everything together once he was given everyday playing time. He is 8-for-17 with three home runs in the past seven days, and even dating back 30 days, he’s hitting .388. Even with the slow start, his season slash line is up to an excellent .317/.405/.548 with five home runs, and this type of production upon promotion is reminiscent of what we saw from Nick Kurtz last year.
It’s obviously a small sample, but he’s clearly earning the results. The 21-year-old has posted a 57.5% hard-hit rate, .306 xBA, and .550 xSLG that completely back up his production. Most importantly, his strikeout rate is just 20.7%, which is a massive improvement from the 29.9% rate he struck out at in Triple-A. Combine that with an elite 13.2% walk rate, and it’s no surprise that he has been one of the most dominant hitters in all of baseball over the past couple of weeks. The rookie generates massive amounts of power with his 6’7” frame, and has already put up a max exit velocity of 113.4 miles per hour in his brief time in the majors. He also has six appearances at first base, so it’s only a matter of time before he’s no longer held back by utility-only eligibility, if that’s still an issue in your league.
Verdict: Legit. While I don’t expect him to maintain his 20% strikeout rate all season, he’s clearly impacting the ball hard enough to matter in fantasy, even if he does regress closer to a 30% clip. Kurtz is a great comp for the best-case scenario for Eldridge, as he’s managed to maintain a career .289 batting average despite a career 29.7% strikeout rate. While I think a .260 batting average is a more realistic outcome long term, the outlier power would make him a must-start first baseman, regardless.
Zack Gelof, 2B/3B/OF, ATH
Zack Gelof has been on fire over the past week, batting .333 with two homers and a stolen base. While this week has been his best yet, he’s actually been hot for far longer, as he’s entering Tuesday on a 19-game hitting streak. On the season, he’s slashing an excellent .275/.322/.476 with nine home runs and seven stolen bases in 56 games, which is a 162-game pace of 26 homers and 20 steals. This looks like the version of Gelof we saw in 2023 as a rookie, where he hit 14 homers and stole 14 bases with a .267 batting average in 69 games.
While the power and speed are something the youngster has consistently shown throughout his career, the big part of this breakout is the batting average. He hit just .211 in 2024 and .174 in 30 games in 2025, so keeping that average above .260 is what would really make him a valuable fantasy asset. However, his underlying metrics don’t paint the prettiest picture.
The .055 difference between his actual and expected batting averages is the largest in the entire league, suggesting that Gelof has been the benefactor of extremely good luck. While the plate discipline is equally as bad, it’s worth noting that his 25.5% strikeout rate is actually the best mark of his career. However, the quality of contact has actually taken a step back, as his launch angle sweet-spot rate, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate are all worse than last year.
Verdict: Not Legit. While he’s certainly been great as of late and worthy of being a hot-hand streaming play, it’s only a matter of time before he regresses back in the direction of his expected stats. His especially good past week also probably had a lot to do with the Las Vegas series, where a whopping 102 total runs were scored in six games in the extremely hitter-friendly stadium. Gelof’s actual home park in Sacramento is a likely key contributor to outperforming his expected stats, as he’s slashing .304/.330/.529 at home compared to .241/.313/.414 on the road. That disparity could still make him startable at home down the stretch, but there are clear downsides here that rule out him being a consistently above-average fantasy contributor.
Dustin May, SP, STL
Dustin May continued his hot stretch with his most spectacular start yet on Monday, tossing a one-hit complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts against the Padres. After giving up a combined 13 runs in his first two starts of the season, he’s only allowed more than three runs in a start once in his last 12 outings. His ERA now sits at 3.75 with a WHIP of 1.14, but if you remove those first two starts, he’s posted an elite 2.54 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. One noticeable change that May has implemented is an increased usage of his cutter, jumping from 9.7% last season to 22.0% this year, which could be a contributor to his success.
However, it doesn’t look as great under the hood, as May doesn’t necessarily stand out in any way. His hard-hit rate is 46.7%, which ranks in the 8th percentile, while his 22.8% strikeout rate, 31.1% chase rate, and .232 xBA are middling at best. One of his more positive traits is his 46.3% groundball rate, but even that is a good but not great value. He continues to keep runs off the board and batters off the basepaths, but 75 strikeouts in 81 ⅔ innings isn’t enough to make him a fantasy ace.
Verdict: Somewhat legit. While I don’t think he’s going to continue this pace and isn’t someone I’d consider a potential fantasy difference-maker, he should still be rostered in all leagues as a middle or back-end rotation piece. There was a time when May was one of the most exciting pitching prospects in the league, so this success is enough to advance him past the “streamer” label. However, the lack of strikeouts and the amount of hard contact he’s giving up is bound to catch up to him, and he’s not exceptional enough in any one area to give him the kind of upside that many other pitchers have. He should be considered a must-start fantasy option at least until he cools off, but don’t expect top 40 SP production from here until the end of the season.
