Two Trips Aranda Bases
Yesterday was one of the most eventful slates of games I have ever done a Batter’s Box article for. There were so many players I could have chosen to feature, as multi-homer games were about as common as stars in the sky. I ended up landing on a player I just really wanted to highlight, someone who is still somewhat underrated. This is due to a combination of factors, such as his baserunning limiting his fantasy value, his injury right in the middle of his breakout season, and the All-Star game home run derby tiebreaker debacle. Still, he deserves credit, at least almost as much as his teammate got yesterday (more on him later).
Coming out of last season, it felt like there was a lot of buzz over the bright red Savant page first basemen Ben Rice and Michael Busch. Aranda was right there with them, though, as his quality of contact last year was absurd. We’ve seen Rice become a borderline superstar and Busch struggle a fair bit early in the year, while Aranda is somewhat in the middle. After yesterday’s contest, he holds a 134 wRC+, though it was at 117 entering his 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R game. Both his home runs were no-doubters, though perhaps they looked a bit pedestrian compared to you know who. We’re getting there, trust me. On Jonathan Aranda, though, it’s great to see a guy who was perhaps the best AAAA player for years finally look like a really strong, productive bat. His offensive tools are plentiful, and I think he’s a top 10 first baseman, though his slow feet do handicap him a bit.
Let’s see how the other hitters did on Friday:
Adley Rutschman (BAL): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 6 RBI.
Adley returned earlier this week to an Orioles team that is definitely happy to have him back. Despite the unrealistic trade rumors in the offseason, he is going to be a key part of what they do in Baltimore. There were a lot of excellent stat lines yesterday, but his may have been the best. The Orioles got all over Brayan Bello early, forming multiple hit parades in which Adley was able to notch two home runs, both driving in two. In between these homers, he was able to get a runner home on a groundout, and he got his last RBI with a single off a curveball in the seventh to give his team double digits in the run column. Adley has had some pretty torrid starts to seasons in the past before cooling down, but we have to have some optimism that he can return as one of the best catchers in the game.
Nathaniel Lowe (CIN): 2-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.
Yet another player I could’ve featured, Nathaniel Lowe, was perhaps the most loved man in Cincinnati yesterday. It’s a shame I wasn’t keeping track of that game against the Tigers live yesterday because it was a really fun one. Oh, well, it makes sense why I didn’t notice the action; there was a rain delay that saw most people returning home. They missed out, as Lowe clobbered a shot deep into the night around midnight to walk off what will probably be one of the longer games start to finish of the year. This was his second homer of the game, as he cranked one right before the tarps came out in the sixth. With a performance like this, perhaps rainy day Lowe can become a bit of a folk hero.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY): 3-4, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB.
There’s been a lot of noise around Chisholm this year that I feel has been a bit unfair. Yes, his wRC+ entering yesterday was 61, yes, he’s had some defensive blunders so far, and yes, that one press conference was a bit hard to watch. Moving past all that, though, Chisholm is still a player with a lot of potential to help winning teams, both in fantasy and real life. He showcased his value yesterday, doing it all (except stealing a base). His Yankees were cruising against the Astros, and he definitely took the lead as their best hitter in the game. I think Jazz is going to turn it around quickly and finish the year with pretty great totals, ones that could earn him a fat contract. Will it be with the Yankees?
Carlos Cortes (ATH): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Here’s a really fun player with a really red Savant page that we should all keep an eye on. Carlos Cortes is a former Mets prospect who, honestly, didn’t really project to amount to much in the minor leagues, where his numbers were less than stellar. He joined the Athletics organization and started hitting quite well, which earned him a cup of coffee in the second half of last year. He did decently well, but I don’t think anybody expected him to go on a tear like this. He replaces an injured Brent Rooker in this Athletics lineup, and he is being given every opportunity to produce, hitting third. I love that he gets to play in Sacramento, which improves his value; however, this game was in Texas, where it is ridiculously difficult to hit. Both his home runs were absolute no-doubters, which only makes us more confident that he can continue to produce.
Ángel Martínez (CLE): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Who’s next up in the two-home-run game club? Ah, Ángel Martínez, a guy who has been featured a couple of times already this year. He’s had a really strong start to the season, way outperforming initial projections, though it’s early. This game represented a bit of a difference in approach from Martinez, as he tends to be more of a don’t swing-and-miss guy as opposed to a home run slugger. Yesterday, he had two dingers and two strikeouts, a somewhat surprising display. His career high in home runs last season was 11, and with nearly half that in 2026, hopefully, he can shatter the record. The underlying data is a bit concerning, as he is one of the year’s major overperformers. His pulled fly ball rate is pretty high, though, so perhaps he will continue to fight off regression.
Junior Caminero (TBR): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
BOOM GOES THE BAT. It’s pretty remarkable watching Junior Caminero when he’s at his best. His home run swing is a thing of beauty, and it makes all his daddy hacks at questionable pitches worth it. Yesterday’s game might be his masterpiece, even if it was just a 2-for-4 performance with only 3 RBI. His first home run was really reminiscent of some of the moonshots he’s hit in the Dominican League. He launched it 450 feet dead center, smoking a well-executed 98mph fastball above the zone. While he wasn’t able to get the distance on his second home run, he added a couple of mph in exit velocity to blast it at nearly 113mph. Junior is off to a really strong start to the season, and it does feel like, in some ways, he has been unlucky with a below-average BABIP. It’s also seriously impressive how little this kid strikes out for such a power-oriented free-swinger.
Konnor Griffin (PIT): 3-4, HR, R, 3 RBI, SB.
Talk about an AMAZING birthday yesterday. Konnor Griffin hit his first home run, which in turn means he got his first combo meal (homer and stolen base in the same game)! In years from now, we are probably going to look back on this and say, “Why is that being celebrated? He does this every game”. That is true, as we are witnessing the birth of a superstar and the next great shortstop in our game (well, him and Kevin McGonigle). Griffin has electric sprint speed and elite bat speed as well, a high-voltage combo that will allow him to be a power/speed threat throughout his career. Part of me kind of thinks we may see a repeat of Bobby Witt Jr’s 2022 rookie year with Griffin, where we will get several more homers and plenty of stolen bases, but the on-base percentage won’t be the best. Still, that has plenty of value in real life and in fantasy, and moving forward, perhaps we can expect years more similar to what Witt does now.
Samuel Basallo (BAL): 4-5, 2B, HR, R, RBI.
You thought there was only one Oriole catcher who lit up the scoresheet yesterday? You’d be wrong. Basallo hasn’t been amazing statistically since being called up, as he grades out around just average among Major League hitters. I think that despite a bit of a rocky introduction to the big leagues, we’ve seen enough that showcases why he was a top prospect. It starts with his bat speed; he swings a fiery bat, which gives him home-run potential in any park. We saw this in the minors, as last year he was hitting at a near-50 home run pace in AAA across 76 games. I’m excited to see Basallo continue to improve with the Orioles, and I think that by season’s end, we will view him as one of the top rookies of 2026.
Matt McLain (CIN): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.
Don’t let rainy day Lowe distract you from the fact that Matt McLain also had an excellent game yesterday. McLain had an ugly start to the year, which made many fear that this season could mirror last year more than his great rookie season. This is a step in the right direction. McLain had a similar game to Lowe, having a home run before the rainout and one after the downpour subsided. He was able to bring Dane Myers in both times, whose walks in each inning proved to be valuable. This was a fun performance, and I really hope we get more of these. Especially considering how much his home ballpark can help hitter success.
Dansby Swanson (CHC): 2-3, 3B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
The Cubs upset the Dodgers last night in a game that, given how popular each team is, I’m assuming a lot of you watched. It was a tight game, but Dansby Swanson was the difference maker, hitting a bomb in the top of the ninth that propelled the Cubs to their tenth victory. Swanson also gave the Cubs their first two runs earlier in the game in the seventh inning, as he hit a triple which, ironically, would have been a home run in Wrigley Field (and only Wrigley Field). Swanson hasn’t had a great start to the year, batting average-wise, but he’s done decently well in other categories; enough to make him an above-average hitter by wRC+. He’s not a superstart with the bat, but he’s a guy who has had a 20-20 season and provides exceptional durability over the course of 162 games.
