Chicken Schwarba

 

Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, BB.

With the daily hitter recap posts, we tend to have a rule where we won’t try to feature the megastars. Everyone knows Aaron Judge is going to have a multi-homer game here and there. We’ve all seen Shohei Ohtani go 5-for-5 with a couple of steals mixed in, and of course, we’ve seen Bobby Witt Jr. narrowly miss the cycle so many times. Yet, I’m starting to wonder if Kyle Schwarber falls into that category.

With that said, sometimes when a player is doing something so magnificent, you have to feature them. Schwarber not only leads the majors in home runs, but he holds that lead by four. Hitting the 20 mark in mid-May is insanely impressive, and few hitters in the game could truly be capable of that feat. With Schwarber, it’s everything you’ve come to expect. He walks a ton, and he also strikes out a ton. When he hits the ball, he hits it hard and often off the sweet spot of the bat. He has one of the best bat speeds in baseball, but doesn’t pound it into the ground like many of his contemporaries. He can be frustrating in your standard 5×5 leagues, as he can get streaky and isn’t much of a contact hitter. He also certainly isn’t a speedster, even if he grabbed 10 bags last year. In on-base leagues, though, he almost certainly is one of the highest draft picks every year. He’s just too good at what he does.

 

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

 

Brandon Lowe (PIT): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

Brandon Lowe is another player who had a multi-home run game, making “Lowed contact” incessantly. He hit two bombs and also struck out twice times. I’ve always been a huge Lowe believer, as while he can be too streaky, his skillset is so rare for a second baseman. He’s kind of like a discount Kyle Schwarber. You get double-digit walks with him, but also a boatload of strikeouts. While he won’t hit quite as many home runs as the man in Philly (who he faced off against in this game), he still was the fastest primary second baseman to the 100-home-run mark. It’s great to see him raking for the Pirates, and perhaps he could be a sleeper for NL MVP votes. I know anybody who grabbed him in fantasy is certainly happy with this level of production.

Cedric Mullins (TBR): 4-4, HR, 3 R, RBI, SB.

Look at him go! Cedric Mullins has unfortunately been pretty terrible for the Rays. Like, incoming DFA levels of bad. Does this change things? Kinda. The stat line is definitely better than the actual on-field show Mullins put on. Two of the singles he hit were soft grounders, while the last one was a slow infield hit. The home run was impressive, but this was peak 2026 Rays-ball. But he’s fitting in a system, and that’s nice, just don’t expect too much fantasy value. Also, hey! A combo meal. That’s fun!

Matt McLain (CIN): 2-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB, SB.

I’ve featured Matt McLain a few times this season, as he seems to love playing his best games on Fridays. While he hasn’t fully turned it around, he’s looking much better than he did earlier in the year. He had a combo meal yesterday, hitting a 377-foot three-run home run that proved vital for his team, and also stealing a base just for good measure.

Daylen Lile (WSN): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.

I remember the excitement Daylen Lile brought with him to Nationals games when he was called up last season. It’s nice that this has carried over somewhat into 2026, where he has a 123 wRC+ and only two fewer home runs than last year in half the games. Lyle had three hits yesterday, coming just shy of the cycle by a triple (okay, that’s the most difficult one, but still). It was an efficient outing for him, and he helped the scoresheet, scoring a run off that homer and driving in Curtis Mead as well. Lile is one of those streamer-type players who can help in many categories, and games like this showcase that.

Luis Arraez (SFG): 4-5, 2B, HR, R, RBI.

LUIS ARRAEZ HOMERED! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! The homer had a hilarious .050 expected batting average mark, which was ironically the lowest of any of his plate appearances on the day. While this was his first home run of the season, he’s surprisingly come pretty close already, as he had a triple that would’ve been out in virtually any other ballpark other than Oracle earlier this year. It helps playing in West Sacramento, where it is incredibly hard for pitchers to keep the ball in the yard. After the home run, Arraez just went back to what he normally does, lacing bloopy liners all over the field. He is who he always has been, and that’s okay with us.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY): 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB, SB.

Classic Jazz, stuffing the statsheet! Jazz Chisholm Jr. has gotten a lot of criticism this year, from haters, from Yankees fans, and from fantasy managers. I always tell people about how awesome he can be whenever I talk to them, as I know firsthand from having him in fantasy last season. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been making as good contact this season as he did last, though games like this are indicative that he still has some left in the tank. It’s great seeing him walk in particular, as the plate discipline can often be spotty.

Ildemaro Vargas (ARI): 4-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI.

I do not want off Ildemaro Vargas’s wild ride anytime soon. Seriously, he is cooking and is not slowing down at all. While many hot starts have come crashing down, Vargas continues to rake at the plate. He’s the ultimate put the ball in play guy, striking out only 11% of the time. Hilariously, he chases a TON, and still makes sure not to strike out. You know he’s swinging when he’s up, yet he’s able to make contact at an elite rate. Some would say his contact rates are a bit unsustainable, especially his 76% chase contact rate, which is up 8% over the past season. Though that was a small sample size, and he’s been in the 70s in that stat in several previous years. It’s hard to say if Vargas will come back down to Earth, but for now, we’re all enjoying this run.

Jordan Walker (STL): 3-5, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Jordan Walker keeps mashing, and it’s a sight to see. Whenever I talk about Walker, I always mention how he was in many ways the third wheel of the Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Carroll prospect duo. While the other two have gotten MVP votes and have proven themselves to be franchise players, Walker notably lagged behind. Walker has stepped up big-time, though, and this year he can’t be called a disappointment. He has a 171 wRC+ and 13 home runs, which is seriously impressive this early in the season. The peripherals look amazing as well, as his xWOBA has jumped over .100 points, and he’s also pulling the ball in the air way more than last year. He’s doing everything right, and stat lines like this are becoming commonplace.

Jakob Marsee (MIA): 3-4, HR, R, RBI, SB.

We have another combo meal! This day was filled with them. You probably initially drafted Jakob Marsee for his speed, if you did at all. He is a contact-first guy who stole a few bases last season, doing enough to get him a look this year. So far, he’s looked fairly sub-par. But like I always say when I feature a player who has struggled, maybe this game will help get him motivated to do it again! Marsee is pulling the ball in the air at a crazy rate this season, so it’s not unreasonable to think a few more home runs are coming, even if he doesn’t have the best exit velocities. He puts the ball in play and is aggressive on the basepaths; those kinds of players are always valuable both in real life and as bench options in fantasy.

Carson Kelly (CHC): 3-5, 2B, 4 RBI.

It’s always fun to have a good game at the plate and behind the plate from a catcher, a position I feel I haven’t given enough credence to in my recap articles recently. Kelly has had a sneakily solid season, as while he hasn’t shown much power with only two runs, he is hitting for a higher average than in each of the last seasons and has an on-base percentage nearing .400. His 131 wRC+ would be his best, and I hope he can keep it up and have a career year when all is said and done at the plate.