Schwarber-Shop Trio
Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 4-5, 3 HR, 4 R, 6 RBI.
After hitting 56 homers a year ago, there was some talk that Kyle Schwarber deserved the NL MVP due to his impact on the Philadelphia Phillies‘ lineup. He lost, of course, to Shohei Ohtani (not surprising), but he still garnered 260 points in the voting process, which was the second-most.
This year, after signing a new multi-year contract in the offseason, it’s been more of the same from Schwarber in 2026.
The averages are even better this year for Schwarber through 73 games. In 329 plate appearances, he’s slashing .254/.368/.595 with a .9633 OPS. That’s better than his .240/.365/.563 slash and .928 OPS in 724 plate appearances a season ago.
However, what’s standing out the most are the bombs.
Schwarber is already halfway to his 56-HR total from a year ago with 89 games to go. If he stays healthy, it’s possible that he not only surpasses last year’s home run total, but perhaps hits the 60+ HR mark. The last person to do that was Cal Raleigh a season ago, as he hit 60 home runs (Aaron Judge hit 62 in 2022).
On Saturday, on national TV against the hated New York Mets, he made a serious statement with his power. Not only did he have four hits, but he also had three home runs, scored four runs, and collected six RBI. It was a monster night from a player who’s not just put up monster numbers in 2026, but has had a history of putting up monster numbers since coming over to Philadelphia in 2022.
Let’s see how the other hitters did on Saturday
Travis Bazzana (CLE): 4-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI.
Since making his debut, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft has continued to live up to the hype. He’s hitting .274 with an .845 OPS in 195 plate appearances, and on Saturday against the Astros, he hit his sixth and seventh home runs of the season. With José Ramírez out for an extended period due to a hamate bone injury, the Guardians need Bazzana to step up at the top of the batting order. Thankfully for Cleveland, he’s doing exactly that.
Ozzie Albies (ATL): 3-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.
Atlanta made a sterling comeback in the bottom of the ninth, and Albies was right in the thick of it. The Atlanta second baseman had two home runs in the game, with his second one being a two-run shot that helped Atlanta walk off Milwaukee. After two subpar seasons in 2024 and 2025, Albies is having a renaissance season with 12 home runs, a .284 average, and a .788 OPS. With Ronald Acuña Jr. still not at 100 percent and on the IL again due to a hamstring strain, Atlanta needs Albies to continue to be a force in the lineup.
Manny Machado (SDP): 2-5, 2B, HR, R, 5 RBI.
Machado looked more like his old self on Saturday, with two hits, five RBI, and his 13th home run of the year. Unfortunately, nights like this haven’t happened a lot. He’s only hitting .178 with a .623 OPS in 306 plate appearances. Machado is at least hitting home runs and should reach the 20+ HR mark again this season. However, that’s the only category he’s positively impacting right now.
Casey Schmitt (SFG): 3-4, 2 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI.
The Giants stink, but Schmitt hasn’t at all this year at the plate. On Saturday, he collected his 16th home run of the year, and he’s hitting .293 with an .853 OPS in 289 plate appearances. The 27-year-old has been moved all over the field by first-year Giants manager Tony Vitello to varying degrees of success (he has a -1 OAA, according to Baseball Savant). That said, as long as Schmitt’s bat stays in the lineup, it doesn’t matter where he plays in the field.
Byron Buxton (MIN): 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.
At the time of this writing, the Twins were beating the Diamondbacks 16-0. The inning? The fifth. There are a lot of Twins to highlight, but we’ll focus on Buxton. He has only one hit, but it was a big one: a grand slam in the fifth inning. In 294 plate appearances, Buxton has 23 homers, a .273 average, and a .927 OPS. Safe to say, another All-Star appearance should be coming for Buxton this July.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
The Cubs lost 8-6 on Saturday after blowing out the Blue Jays on Friday. Despite the loss, it was another banner day for Crow-Armstrong. The Cubs center fielder had two hits, two RBI, and launched his 16th home run of the year. He also has 18 stolen bases and is hitting .286 with an .884 OPS in 329 plate appearances. Fantasy baseball fans know about his disastrous second half in 2025. However, he’s bounced back nicely in the first half of 2026.
Kazuma Okamoto (TOR): 1-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Okamoto doesn’t get much attention because he’s hitting for a low average (.229). That said, he’s shown excellent power this year with 16 home runs, his latest coming on Saturday in the Toronto win. Okamoto whiffs (34.4% whiff rate) and strikes out (32.8% K%) a lot. Nonetheless, he provides the power production the Blue Jays need in the middle of the batting order. 25-30 home runs could be coming for Okamoto in his Stateside (or should I say, Canadian) debut.
Jake McCarthy (COL): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.
The Rockies beat the Pirates 2-1, even though Paul Skenes was on the mound. A big contributor to the surprising win was McCarthy, who hit an inside-the-park home run to lead off the game for the Rockies. McCarthy also had a double and scored the Rockies’ only two runs in the Saturday victory. After being buried on the bench (and Triple-A) in Arizona, McCarthy has flourished in Colorado. He is hitting .292 with an .802 OPS in 215 plate appearances, and he has five home runs and 11 stolen bases. The Denver altitude seems to have done McCarthy good.
Heriberto Hernández (MIA): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
The Marlins got back over .500 with their three-run victory over the Giants (Miami is now 39-38). The left fielder only had one hit, but it was a key two-run bomb that broke this open in the fourth inning. After hitting 10 home runs in 294 plate appearances last year, Hernandez has seven in 162. He’s doing this despite being down in batting average (.233 to .266 in 2025) and OPS (.707 to .785 in 2025). Once Hernandez gets back on track at the plate, he could be pushing 20+ home runs by the season’s end.
