The X-Liles
Daylen Lile (WSN): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, SB.
Mickey Moniak could do little but watch Daylen Lile’s 16th home run soar over his head in the eighth inning of yesterday’s blowout loss to the Nats in D.C. Meanwhile, poor Blake Adams took it on the chin, as his first big-league inning ended with five earned runs. Nonetheless, the three-run bomb ended Lile’s 14-game power outage. He ended the night with a stolen base and two more hits, including a two-out, two-run, bases-loaded single to right in the sixth.
The 23-year-old lefty jumped on the radar late last year with a surge that culminated in a .299 batting average and a 132 wRC+ over 351 PAs. He has done a decent job so far in the home run department, nearly doubling last year’s nine. He has also stolen 13 bags, albeit on 18 attempts. However, his rate stats have lagged badly; he’s hitting just .246 with an 88 wRC+. Lile’s PLV Power metric of 106 is pretty decent, but his tendency to chase seems like the biggest culprit on his profile (87 DV), and has left him looking, to me at least, like more of a borderline option in standard leagues rather than the slam dunk we wanted him to be.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:
Michael Conforto (CHC): 3-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.
We haven’t seen the Cubs boom while PCA goes hitless a whole lot this year, but that’s what happened last night in the desert. Conforto sparked the easy win with a two-run blast off righty reliever Taylor Clarke. And, yeah, it was a bomb (431 feet, 110.9 EV). So that’s two home runs in two consecutive games. He also owns a .799 OPS. But, alas, he’s hitting eighth with a career-high 29.3% K rate.
Esmerlyn Valdez (PIT): 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB.
Valdez hadn’t gone yard since July 26th, but all he needed was a 90 mph meatball from Robbie Ray. Valdez’s strikeout rate has ballooned to 37.4% with pitchers bullying his passive approach. Still, his batted ball results are top-notch (134 PLV Power) and so is his 15.2% BB rate. I’ll admit, I sometimes enjoy perusing the similar batters on Baseball Savant. What? It’s fun. In Valdez’s case, it’s a pretty good list: Schwarber, Rooker, Murakami, Kurtz, and Jones. It all makes sense now.
Jake Burger (TEX): 2-3, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Burger blasted his 22nd home run in the fifth against lefty reliever Tyler Schweitzer. I know what you’re thinking. Wow, Burger walked twice. How many times has he done that this year? I’m glad you asked! Five times, most recently on August 9th. The free-swinging slugger is slashing .236/ .301/ .424 with 75 RBIs and 53 runs scored.
Luke Keaschall (MIN): 2-6, 2 2B, 2 RBI.
Last night seemed like a dream spot for Keaschall and the Twins as they faced Jeffrey Springs at Sacré Verde. It worked as they pounded out nine runs on 16 hits. Their leadoff man, meanwhile, has been quietly racking up hits lately; he’s hitting .326, 11th best among qualified hitters over the last 30 days. I just wish he ran more often. He’s still stuck on 14, the same as he had last year in less than half the time.
Henry Bolte (ATH): 3-4, 3 R, BB.
You know who has the tenth-best batting average among qualified hitters over the last 30 days? Yep, Bolte. He has led off for the A’s all but one of the last ten games and has stolen 14 bases. The 23-year-old rookie has 95th percentile bat speed, but also an unfortunate tendency toward groundballs.
Cal Raleigh (SEA): 3-3, 3 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB.
There. We. Go. Raleigh’s first career three-home-run game began with a towering two-run drive against Wheeler in the first. He tagged Wheeler again while leading off the fifth; the damage came on a 3-2 cutter that caught too much of the plate, and at 397 feet, it was his longest of the night. His third shot came against righty reliever Chase Shugart in the seventh. All that, and his OPS sits at .618. It’s been one of the most stunning reversals we’ve seen in years. Well, you know what they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Maybe this can be a start to a good finish to the year. Let’s hope so.
Ezequiel Tovar (COL): 2-2, 2B, HR, R, RBI.
Speaking of guys who have had a year to forget, Tovar sent a curveball from Cavalli soaring over the center field wall for his tenth dinger while leading off the fifth (415 feet, 104.8 EV). A few minutes later, he hurt his wrist in the field while trying to catch a shallow fly ball. If that’s not Murphy’s Law, I don’t know what is. Assuming Tovar heads to the IL, Cole Carrigg will likely shift to short, meaning we could see some more at-bats open up in the outfield.
Wyatt Langford (TEX): 2-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.
The longball came in garbage time against Trevor Richards with two down in the ninth (368 feet, 103 EV). Limited to 80 games by hamstring and forearm strains, Langford has recorded a .783 OPS and 117 wRC+ with 15 home runs and 10 stolen bases. That’s not bad, but it’s a little underwhelming for managers who anticipated him to take a step forward. His PLV metrics, including a 105 Process, are solid across the board.
Rafael Devers (SFG): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Chase Burns nearly escaped a two-out, two-on jam in the second, but Devers produced the final score by sending a 2-2 fastball soaring over the wall in right-center (427 feet, 108.9 EV). The lefty slugger is having a solid, albeit forgettable campaign, slashing .243 /.321/ .475 with 27 home runs and 73 RBI. His 31 doubles are tied with Olson and Reynolds for third-most in baseball.
Nick Sogard (BOS): 1-5, RBI.
No, not exactly the most thrilling line by Sogard. But his ninth-inning single extended his modest seven-game hitting streak. His roster percentage has spiked recently after emerging as Boston’s leadoff hitter. The 28-year-old switch hitter is slashing .283/ .395/ .417 and could be a good source of runs the rest of the way, provided he keeps the assignment. And with a 16% BB rate, I see no reason why he can’t.
Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on Bluesky)
