Highway to the Duran Zone

 

Jarren Duran (BOS): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB.

It’s no secret that Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran has gotten off to an excruciatingly painful slow start. The 29-year-old has slashed just .189/.262/.331 with a 63 wRC+ over 187 plate appearances, watching notable metrics like SwStr% and xwOBA regress. With that being said, perhaps the left-handed bat has been due for some positive regression — his .227 xBA and .289 xwOBA, despite how bad they may be, are certainly outperforming his actual numbers.

We’re talking about a minuscule sample size, but Duran has hit safely in three of his last four games, owning a 225 wRC+ over that span. He’s also walked twice in back-to-back games. Yesterday, Duran scorched two baseballs for extra base hits — a 105.1 EV double and a 106 EV / 366 FT home run that Statcast says would leave all 30 ballparks. Hopefully, this is a sign of what’s to come… the Red Sox offense could sure use a boost.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday…

 

James Wood (WSN): 3-5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

Wood, 23, tortured fellow young superstar Nolan McLean yesterday, racking up three hits against him in his first three plate appearances. He oddly hit not one, but two singles that registered a 93.1 exit velo (in the 1st and 4th innings, respectively), and launched a 101.3 EV / 379 FT home run in between those knocks just for good measure. The K% is still quite alarming, but Wood has increased his BB% by 5% and owns the highest SLG of his career, helping fuel a 157 wRC+ through 49 games this year.

 

Nick Kurtz (ATH): 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 5 RBI, SB.

Kurtz, like Wood, is still striking out quite often, but the combination of slugging paired with taking walks at an elite clip makes him such a high ceiling bat. Somehow, Kurtz has seen his EV increase by nearly three ticks, and that’s helped boost his xwOBA… not to mention a 20% walk rate is absolutely absurd. He tallied three hits yesterday against a few solid arms on the Angels staff — a 95.1 EV single against Jose Fermin, a 109.5 EV double off Ryan Johnson, and a 111.7 EV single versus Reid Detmers.

 

Brice Turang (MIL): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

Is Turang the best second baseman in baseball? I certainly believe you could make the case he is. The 26-year-old is slashing .292/.413/.497 with a 158 wRC+, and while his competition in guys like Ketel Marte — who is majorly due for some positive regression after facing some of the worst batted ball luck I’ve ever seen to start the year — is still lagging in production, Turang is thriving. In the most Brewers way possible, Turang managed to smack a home run that statcast projects would leave just one ballpark — the one that mattered last night. On top of the 101.4 EV / 370 FT shot, he added two singles at 95.8 and 97.5 mph.

 

Alec Burleson (STL): 2-3, HR, 3 R, RBI.

If you want to watch a fun team in 2026, look no further than the St. Louis Cardinals — a prestigious organization that had many believing they’d be retooling and somewhat uncompetitive this season after dealing away quite a few household names. Burleson has been a big part of their success offensively, slashing .283/.348/.461 with a 127 wRC+. The 27-year-old torched a 106.9 EV single in the fourth inning, and later launched a 102.5 EV / 404 FT home run off Brandon Bidois in the eighth inning.

 

Travis Bazzana (CLE): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.

Want to talk about a heat check? Bazzana, after going three straight games without his first career knock in the majors, has been possibly the hottest hitter in baseball over this past week:

PA	BA	OBP	SLG	xwOBA	wRC+
27	.462	.481	.577	.359	205

The 23-year-old has been an OBP machine, turning in a walk rate of 16% this year, and the hits are starting to fall left and right. If he is by some miracle available in your leagues (rostered at just a 42% clip on Yahoo… absolutely baffling), go ahead and acquire him now.

 

Miguel Andujar (SDP): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.

Andujar is a guy I snagged very late in one of my deeper leagues to play an everyday corner infield role and that’s worked out beautifully. He’s slashing .299/.324/.522 with a 136 wRC+. He may never walk (lol), but he generates hits left and right. Plus, he’s already mashed five home runs — including yesterday’s 106.6 EV / 393 FT shot that is gone in 30/30 ballparks — which is amazing considering he only had 10 total last season. He’s another bat I’d grab if you need a minor lineup spark.

 

Rafael Devers (SFG): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, RBI.

Talk about spark. Devers clearly saw the trade rumors again and decided enough was enough, slashing .301/.354/.562 with a 150 wRC+ since April 30th. The K% is still way up and he’s seeing some regression across the board, but we’re talking about a premium offensive talent when he’s at his best. A towering 111.2 EV / 441 FT home run was the longest hit batted ball from all of yesterday’s games.

 

Joc Pederson (TEX): 4-5, 2B, R, RBI.

I almost feel bad for Tanner Gordon — he’ll be seeing Pederson in his nightmares for at least the next six months. Yesterday, the 34-year-old veteran tallied four hits off Gordon in four consecutive plate appearances. They registered EVs of 69.7, 94.3, 97, and 105.5 mph, respectively. Pederson owns a 16% BB rate (tied for a career best) and 107 wRC+ to start the year.

 

Otto Lopez (MIA): 3-4, 2 R, BB, SB.

Lopez has been, point blank, one of the best middle infielders in baseball this season and I’m so glad he’s proving me right every day. He entered this year as a major breakout candidate and has burst onto the scene through 48 games, slashing .346/.377/.497 with a 144 wRC+, still limiting strikeouts at an elite level (his zCon% is somehow even better this year) and playing excellent defense at shortstop. He singled in three consecutive plate appearances to start the game yesterday, two of those three registering EVs of 100+ mph. He’s such a fun player to watch on both sides of the ball.