Rolling In The Deep Fly Balls

There’s a fire starting in Jo Adell’s heart, crushing a weaker pitch and leaving Eric Lauer in the dark. With the Angels already sporting a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning, Adell added some insurance with an opposite field HR off Lauer and he followed it up with an absolutely monstrous 114.5 mph, 449-foot blast into the second deck at the Rogers Centre in the 6-1 win for Los Angeles. Adell finished the game going 3-4, 2 HRs, 2B, 2 R, and 2 RBI, and he raised his line on the year to .273/.314/.410. The 27-year old has sacrificed power for batting average this season, hitting what would be a career-high .273 with just six HRs, after hitting .236 with 37 HRs in 2025. While his bat speed is still elite, Adell isn’t barreling the ball up or hitting it in the air as often as he did last season. Both his walks (2.3%) and strikeouts (22.1%) are at an all-time low, and putting the ball in play more might be good for someone with Adell’s power. The Angels outfielder is one to keep an eye on going forward this season. Can he maintain the solid batting average? Will the consistent power return? Can both happen at the same time? If the answer to the last question is yes, Adell could be a highly coveted trade deadline candidate.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did on Sunday:

 

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

Adell and Kyle Schwarber almost had identical stat lines on the day, the main difference is Schwarber did his damage early, homering off Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano in the first and second innings. Schwarber is now tied for the MLB lead in HRs with Aaron Judge and his 161 wRC+ this season would be the highest of his outstanding career.

 

Brandon Marsh (PHI): 4-4, R.

Hey it may not have turned a lot of heads, but I’m never going to ignore a four-for-four performance at the plate, even if it was just four singles by Brandon Marsh. The Beard from Buford has been on an absolute tear this season hitting an astonishing .353/.382/.511. The 19-22 Phillies may want to consider rearranging their lineup to put Marsh at the top in front of Schwarber and Bryce Harper to maximize their run potential, because right now those are just about the only guys getting the job done at the plate.

 

JJ Bleday (CIN): 1-2, 3B, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB.

JJ Bleday, what do ya say? Although it has only been 42 at-bats, Bleday has really endeared himself to Cincinnati fans after signing as a free agent this offseason. The former fourth overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, Bleday is hitting .262/.392/.643, with four HRs, more walks than strikeouts, and there may even be more in the tank as his BABIP is just .226. Oh yea and he stole a base yesterday as well. I wouldn’t blame if you rushed to snag Bleday off the waiver wire your fantasy league.

 

Brayan Rocchio (CLE): 4-4, 2B, 2 R.

Look at that another light-hitting four-for-four game. At least Brayan Rocchio managed a double. Despite batting last in the order and being more known for his glove at SS, Rocchio has seen improvements across the board at the plate, hitting .278/.360/.383 with a 1/1 BB/K ratio. We’ll see if he can keep it up over the course of the season, but you could do a lot worse out of the nine hole if you were Cleveland.

 

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

Brice Turang smacked a hanging curveball from David Bednar 411-feet to centerfield for a walkoff HR and series sweep of the Yankees for Milwaukee. Turang is about as sure a thing as you can get at the keystone spot right now and he leads all MLB second baseman with a 165 wRC+.

 

Ryan Waldschmidt (ARI): 2-3, 2B, R, 3 RBI.

Diamondbacks top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt probably isn’t used to hitting last in the lineup, but he showed no signs of letting it slow him down as he drove in the first two runs of the ballgame with a double in the second and added an RBI single in the sixth to lead Arizona to a 5-1 win over the Mets. We’ll see how quickly the 23-year old can make adjustments at the MLB level, however he showed an ability to adapt to improved pitching at each level of the Minor Leagues, as he hit a very impressive .289/.419/.473 with 18 HRs and 29 stolen bases at high-A and AA in 2025.

 

Heliot Ramos (SF): 2-6, HR, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI.

Heliot Ramos smacked a 437-foot HR off Bubba Chandler and added an RBI double later in the game to help San Francisco overcome the Pirates 7-6 in a wild twelve inning affair. Hitting behind Rafael Devers should provide Ramos with plenty of quality pitches to see and if he can take advantage like on Sunday, the 26-year old could find his way back to the All Star Game like in 2024.

 

Maikel Garcia (KC): 3-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB.

And we wrap up with another light-hitting performance that didn’t produce an out, as Maikel Garcia tried valiantly to bring the Royals back against Detroit on Sunday Night Baseball. The 26-year old Garcia has picked up right where he left off during his All Star breakout 2025 season, as he’s hitting .285.353/.437 with a 118 wRC+.