That’s Josh By Gosh

Josh Naylor (SEA): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.

Josh Naylor had fantasy managers giddy last season, hitting .295 with 20 taters and a career-best 128 wRC+. And, oh yeah, how about 30 steals? However, those fantasy managers who rolled the dice with him again this year have been rewarded with nothing but regret, remorse, and bagels galore in the boxscore.

Thankfully, Mike Burrows showed up at T-Mobile Park yesterday afternoon and decided to lend him a helping hand. Nick posted a wonderful recap of their first and second meetings on X that I encourage you to view if you find yourself in need of amusement. I’ll recap it, but again, I can’t possibly do it justice. With runners on second and third in the bottom of the first, Burrows started the at-bat with a heater upstairs; Naylor fouled it straight back. That’s generally a cue for the pitcher that a change of speed might be in order, especially for someone like Burrows, who happens to have a good changeup. But to Nick’s dismay, Burrows doubled down. Naylor probably couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a 96 mph fastball coming right down Broadway. The result was the big first baseman’s first extra-base hit of 2026, a three-run bomb to right.

Most would have figured that Burrows would adopt a different approach in their second encounter. But on this Monday afternoon in Seattle, logic was nowhere to be found. Burrows fired another fastball, this one on the outer third. The result was the same, or perhaps worse, considering it landed 433 feet away from the plate. Hey, the first one was only 365 feet! That was it for Naylor; he popped out in the fifth and seventh.

Naylor has always been an aggressive hitter, and that hasn’t changed, with his 56.6% swing rate about 9 ticks above the league average. He also excelled last season at T-Mobile Park, posting a 188 wRC+ across 100 PAs. Generally speaking, I think it’s best to remain patient with proven players, to which Naylor, and his 123 wRC+ over the previous four seasons combined, certainly qualifies. The ugly start feels like a fluke. A bad couple of weeks and nothing more. Hopefully, Burrows knocked the cobwebs off Naylor’s bat.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:

Mike Trout (LAA): 2-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI.

Trout entered last night’s barn burner in the Bronx, hitting .208, perhaps leaving managers a little uneasy after his struggles in 2025. Nonetheless, I’m encouraged by his 21.4% K rate; that’s nearly ten points lower than last year. The three-time AL MVP tied the score in the sixth, with a three-run dinger on a sweeper from Jake Bird that hung letter-high (421 feet, 108.7 EV). His second of the night came in the eighth on a hanging slider from Camilo Doval (445 feet, 109.2 EV). The big night pushes Trout’s OPS to .813. Seeing him go toe-to-toe with Judge is pure baseball bliss.

Ryan Jeffers (MIN): 3-4, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB.

So, who had Garrett Crochet getting five outs while allowing ten earned runs on nine hits and three walks on their bingo sheet? Jeffers played a part in Crochet’s dismantling with RBI singles in his first two at-bats. His second home run of 2026 came in the fifth inning on a sinker from Ryan Watson (386 feet, 108.2 EV). Jeffers has been remarkably productive in the early going as Minnesota’s cleanup man, hitting .317 with a .952 OPS. Need a catcher? Give him a look.

Trent Grisham (NYY): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.

New York’s mustachioed center fielder entered last night’s game hitting a ghastly .133 without a home run and riding the pine against left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. I know what you are thinking. Last year didn’t happen, right? Was it a dream? Not so fast! Grisham entered as a pinch-hitter for Grichuk with one down in the fifth and golfed a changeup from Shaun Anderson that had just enough hang time to fly over the short porch in right (355 feet, 99 EV) for a go-ahead, three-run jack. His second blew Jordan Romano’s save opportunity and was hit to nearly the same spot, albeit with a bit more gusto (391 feet, 102.3 EV). Grisham’s 98th percentile hard-hit rate suggests better days ahead, although he is decidedly better in OBP formats. Check out that 22.4% BB rate. Not bad.

Ketel Marte (ARI): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Marte grooved Dean Kremer’s first pitch, a 93.5 mph fastball at the letters, and sent it crashing onto Eutaw Street (443 feet, 108.6 EV). Two innings later, Marte punished Kremer again, sending a 1-1 curveball to deep right (405 feet, 106.9 EV). The early returns haven’t been there, but Marte remains as reliable a second baseman as you’ll find, with his 131 wRC+ over the previous four seasons combined ranking 21st among qualified hitters.

Angel Martínez (CLE): 2-5, HR, R, RBI.

A switch-hitter who can field multiple positions, Angel Martínez has been productive of late, notching multi-hit efforts in five of his last six games. His second home run of the season last night against Matthew Liberatore was a pretty decent poke, too, at 398 feet. However, he was far more effective against left-handers last year, hitting .279 with a 123 wRC+ vs. marks of .197 and 48 against righties.

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

Lowe notched Sunday’s cover with two dingers, and the former Ray raked again last night. With two down in the bottom of the sixth, and the Pirates ahead 12-1, he sent a hanging changeup from Brad Lord into the seats in right (409 feet, 104.5 EV) for a three-run home run. That’s six home runs for Lowe and a 1.048 OPS, good for eighth on the leaderboard. Managers who punted second base with Lowe are looking like geniuses right now.

Andy Pages (LAD): 1-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Pages swatted the drive of the game on a 2-0 curveball from David Peterson (363 feet, 97 EV). He waned a bit in the second half last year, but that has quickly become a distant memory, thanks to a .417 batting average and a 1.186 OPS. Currently the fourth-best player on Yahoo, Pages also boasts 20 RBI, the most in baseball. The Dodgers can do no wrong.

Jeremiah Jackson (BAL): 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.

The Orioles’ righty-hitting second baseman stepped to the plate in the sixth with the bases loaded, one down, and the D’Backs ahead 7-2. He then unloaded on a hanging slider from Taylor Rashi, putting the Orioles within a run. An inning later, Andrew Hoffman challenged Jackson with a knee-high fastball on the inside corner and lost (427 feet, 106.3 EV). Jackson was reasonably productive last year, slashing .276/ .328/ .447 with five home runs across 183 PAs. With Jackson Holliday likely to remain on the IL through this week, Jackson, who has hit eighth or ninth, could retain some AL-only league value.

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

Again!? You better believe it. Walker’s latest handiwork came in the sixth with the bases empty on a knee-high sweeper from Gavin Williams and landed in the Guardians’ bullpen (398 feet, 107.6 EV). That’s eight home runs, the most in baseball, and two more than he had last year in…330 more PAs.

Jake Burger (TEX): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.

Burger entered last night’s game at Sutter Heath Park, having not gone yard since the second game of the season. But that all changed in the first inning, when he stepped to the plate following consecutive walks to Evan Carter and Corey Seager, and blasted a sinker from Luis Severino to deep left-center (417 feet, 113.6 EV). He tormented Severino again in the third, shooting another sinker over the right field fence (382 feet, 104.2 EV). It’s good to see Burger’s power has returned after undergoing surgery this past offseason to repair a torn sheath in his wrist. However, he is also striking out a bit more (30.9%) than we’ve seen from him over the past couple of years.

Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)