Kelenic At Night

Jarred Kelenic (SEA): 3-4, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

Welcome to the show Jarred Kelenic. After making a few loud outs in his official debut Thursday, the excitement for one of the games top prospects was vindicated with Kelenic’s Friday performance, as he went three for four with a pair of doubles and his first career home run, collecting three RBI and scoring two runs along the way.

After striking out in his first at bat to start his MLB career 0-5, Kelenic made his first career hit stick with a 403 foot shot in the 3rd inning off Aaron Civale. The two-run bomb was the hardest hit ball of the game, coming off his bat at 109.3 mph, and was followed up with his second hard hit ball of the game with a 97.4 mph double in the 5th. Kelenic used his wheels to stretch a soft, albeit well placed ball for his second double of the game as he knocked in Sam Haggerty in the seventh inning for his 3rd RBI of the game. Mariners’ fans and fantasy managers who had been stashing Kelenic on their rosters through the first six weeks of the season should look forward to many more performances like the one we saw on Friday.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday:

 

Josh Bell (WSH): 2-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB.

Josh Bell is back! Ok, maybe not, but this single game was a nice reminder of what could still come to pass with the Nationals’ first baseman. Bell recorded three hard hit balls throughout the game, though unfortunately two of them went right into the ground. Between Thursday’s home run and Friday’s multi-hit performance, Bells has raised his season long slash line to .154/.220/.341. Not good Bob. Just because the Nationals keep rolling him out there in the middle part of their line up, to figure things out doesn’t mean fantasy managers have to do the same if they can help it.

Garrett Hampson (COL): 3-4, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB.

Leading off the the Rockies, Garrett Hampson set the tone with a lead off triple to left field. The laser line drive came off the bat at 105.8 mph, his hardest hit ball of the season to that point. Hampson wasn’t satisfied with not breaking the 106 mph mark, so he out did himself in the 7th inning with a 456 foot solo blast that was clocked at 106.2 mph. The two hard hits were Hampson’s hardest hit balls of the year thus far and helped raise his hard hit rate to 32.3% on the season.

Yonathan Daza (COL): 3-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB.

A FAAB favorite a couple weeks ago when it seemed he would be getting a bulk of playing time in the Colorado outfield, Yonathan Daza became one of the most dropped players across a variety of leagues when Colorado failed to start him for a string of games in early May. Perhaps we’ll see him on FAAB addition lists once again this Sunday as Daza has now started in three straight for the Rockies, collecting three hits in each, including a double and two singles in each. He’s nothing if not consistent, at least in the last few days anyway. If Raimel Tapia misses any time with his thumb issue, or Charlie Blackmon misses any time with his recent groin issue, both Daza and Hampson should benefit from extra looks, especially with their recent performances.

Yan Gomes (WSH): 5-6, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 R, 2 RBI.

Yan Gomes filled the stat sheet Friday, coming just a home run shy of the cycle in his five hit performance. Though Gomes’ slash on the season is a respectable .288/.321/.500, his xBA of .329 and xSLG of .548 paints him as a player that still can produce a bit higher. Gomes doesn’t hit the ball too hard, even with his three hard hits in this most recent game, and doesn’t take too many walks as shown by his 3.6% walk rate, but makes up for it with a 16.7% K rate and a .387 xwOBA, making him a solid C2 in 2-catcher leagues and consideration for a streaming C1 in single catcher leagues.

Aaron Judge (NYY): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB.

Aaron Judge was the cause of two lead changes Friday, starting the scoring off in the first inning with a 103.8 mph solo shot to left field and then going yard again in the 4th, this time coming off the bat at 105.3 mph but still traveling the same 383 feet to right center. The pair of home runs brings Judge into double digits on the season, surpassing his 2020 total of nine.

Max Muncy (LAD): 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI.

What, no walks from Max Muncy? This can’t be right. Even with his walkless night, Muncy still leads the lead by a considerable margin with 36 walks on the season so something tells me this performance won’t change that for the patient Dodgers’ slugger. Muncy saw a majority of fastballs from the Miami bullpen Friday, but it was one from starter Sandy Alcantara that Muncy took advantage of as he blasted it 424 feet for his eighth home run of the season. The bomb would ultimately be the straw that chased Alcantara from the game after lasting just an inning and two thirds.

Andrew Stevenson (WSH): 2-3, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.

Andrew Stevenson didn’t start this game, but that didn’t stop him from getting in on the action as he pinched hit for Victor Robles with the game seemingly already out of reach by the 6th inning. Stevenson capped off the Nationals’ 17-run affair with a three run blast to right center traveling 440 feet, second only to Trea Turner’s 443 foot shot that came earlier in the game. Stevenson has been primarily a bat off the bench this season and would need an injury in the Washington outfield to see enough playing time to warrant consideration in most leagues.

Josh Naylor (CLE): 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Perhaps this is the Josh Naylor many have been hoping for this season. Few have hit the ball harder this season than Naylor, and he added to that fact with a 108.5 mph 2-run home run in the 9th inning Friday. Though he did start in right field once again for Cleveland, Naylor has quietly made six appearances at first base thus far this season, inching that much closer to dual eligibility on many platforms.

Dylan Moore (SEA): 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 SB.

For those who have clutched onto Dylan Moore through the first five weeks of the season may finally be seeing the turn around they wished for. Moore’s two hit performance Friday gives him eight hits across his last 26 trips to the plate, giving him a slash of .333/.385/.708 in that time. If that’s the way Moore started the season we would be thinking about him in a whole new light in mid-May. The stolen base was his seventh of the season, so he’s been good in that area for fantasy managers who refused to budge on their early draft pick.

Adam Frazier (PIT): 4-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 R, 1 RBI.

Another “home run shy of the cycle” performance Friday, this one come courtesy of Adam Frazier as he collected four hits on the night, his 13th multi-hit game of the year. Almost exclusively hitting from the leadoff spot for the Pirates, Frazier is now slashing .315/.383/.456 on the season and even without the added pop can be a beneficial fill in for most fantasy rosters.

Bobby Dalbec (BOS): 1-2, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB.

Bobby Dalbec doesn’t typically order combo meals, so when he does it’s worth mentioning.

 

Featured Imaged by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter)