Of Rice and Ben
Ben Rice (NYY): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Anytime I see a lefty with enough bang to go yard the opposite way, I get excited. That’s what Rice did yesterday, barreling a belt-high sinker from Brandon Young for a two-run tater that broke a scoreless tie at Camden Yards in the third inning. It also snapped an eight-day home run drought precipitated by a bruised wrist. But, fear not, he’s ok now. Phew.
Of course, Rice barrelling baseballs isn’t anything new. He was sensational last year, swatting 26 bombs with a 133 wRC+ across 530 PAs. But his performance had pronounced peaks and valleys, leaving some drafters a little squeamish about buying his inflated ADP. And he also lost some at-bats against left-handers, making things a little hairy when the Yankees decided to bring back Paul Goldschmidt.
Nonetheless, any lingering concerns have long since been laid to rest. He and Judge have become the most prolific lefty-righty tandems in baseball. At least, that’s what the numbers say right now. Rice leads baseball with a 1.113 OPS, and Judge is third at 1.035. Eye-watering results aside, Rice’s PLV metrics embolden his future outlook: 108, Contact, 113 Decision Value, 139 Power, and 142 Process; the latter is second to only Yordan Alvarez among all hitters to have faced at least 250 pitches. Yep, that’ll do.
The traumatized Yankee fan in me remembers the pain Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz inflicted once upon a midnight dreary. I’m also reminded of myself being convinced that Greg Bird was Mark Teixeira’s heir apparent. Remember that home run against Ken Giles? How could I forget! Alas, the plans of mice and men.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:
Travis Bazzana (CLE): 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Bazzana is hitting just .211 since debuting on April 28th. However, everything else has looked pretty good; he has seven stolen bases, a 12.5% K rate, and a tight 16% chase rate. Better results wouldn’t be the least bit surprising. The only thing that might be worth monitoring is a pretty low 10% pulled flyball rate, which could keep his power down if it sticks.
Jonathan Aranda (TBR): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Aranda’s fifth-inning big fly off Kevin Gausman (415 feet, 104.8 EV) capped an 8-5 win over the Jays. The 27-year-old lefty is slashing a rock-solid .279/ .379/ .486 through 169 PAs. His PLV metrics, including a 114 Power and 114 Process, back the results. It feels like he should easily clear last year’s 14 home runs.
Coby Mayo (BAL): 1-2, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB.
Mayo spelled victory for the Baltimore Orioles by depositing a slider from lefty reliever Brent Headrick over the left field fence (388 feet, 99.2 EV) for a go-ahead, three-run blast with one down in the home seventh. Nonetheless, he remains far from the fantasy radar, hitting .165 with a .541 OPS, and a K rate north of 30%. He also wouldn’t have made last night’s starting lineup, save for Samuel Basallo being a late scratch.
Andrés Giménez (TOR): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.
Last night’s flashiest line started with a three-run jack off Drew Rasmussen that put the Jays on the board in the second; however, it was the definition of a wall-scraper (351 feet, 93.9 EV). The second home run, which came on a hanging slider from lefty reliever Ian Seymour, was more like it (401 feet, 105.8 EV). I’ll admit, with five home runs and five stolen bases, Giménez looks a little interesting, considering how barren second base has become. Just don’t look at his batted-ball metrics, unless you like blue.
Julio Rodríguez (SEA): 2-4, HR, R, RBI.
Julio’s seventh came on a 0-2 heater at the letters (413 feet, 106.6 EV). Yeah, it’s probably safe to say that Pete Lambert would like a mulligan. The 25-year-old righty hasn’t been bad by any means, but perhaps a touch underwhelming, slashing .277/ .341/ .452 through 182 PAs. Although that’s pretty much in line with his career slash of .275/ .332/ .468. His swing decisions remain problematic (86 DV). Maybe this is just who he is?
Heliot Ramos (SFG): 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB.
Ramos has come alive with four consecutive multi-hit efforts. He is hitting .278 with a 91st-percentile hard-hit rate, but his 5.1% BB rate, backed by subpar swing decisions (95 DV), makes him somewhat mercurial. I still get the sense that he will be someone who is added and dropped a ton in standard-sized leagues, given his home park and lack of stolen bases.
Shohei Ohtani (LAD): 0-5.
Are we starting to worry? That’s a .772 OPS through 179 PAs. I suppose the narrative here is that he’s prioritized pitching this season. At the risk of looking like a moron, I’m recalibrating expectations. His hard-hit rate is down about ten ticks, and PLV confirms, listing his power at 121, a huge drop from last season’s 155. At least he’s walking at a career-best 15.4%.
Rafael Devers (SFG): 2-3, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Devers started the scoring by torching a 3-2 slider from Roki Sasaki while leading off the second (400 feet, 102.7 EV). Big game aside, his first full season in San Francisco has been nothing short of disastrous, with a career-high 30.1% K rate and a career-worst .263 xwOBA. His PLV metrics don’t paint a pretty picture either, the worst of all being a drop in power from 128 to 100. Yikes.
Max Muncy (LAD): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Similar to Rice, Muncy illustrated his prowess as a premier lefty slugger by going oppo on a 1-2 changeup from righty Trevor McDonald (395 feet, 104.1 EV). He leads the Dodgers with 11 home runs and a .950 OPS; the latter would be his best mark since he broke out way back in 2018. Is this a sell-high moment? Alright, maybe. But his 111 DV, 130 Power, and 125 Process are awfully good.
Vaughn Grissom (LAA): 1-5, RBI.
Not a memorable line, but you might want to put Grissom on your radar if you’re in a deep league. The 25-year-old righty hit third each of the past two games, both against LHP, meaning he’s in a platoon role. Still, he has been productive, slashing .273/ .351/ .409 with a minuscule 8.2% K rate and a 12.3% BB rate across 78 PAs. These days, we’re looking at anyone with a pulse who has 2B eligibility.
Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)
