Making Tristory

I made it a goal to try not to repeat players for my hitter recap headlines this season. So far, so good. Of course, I didn’t realize that Tristan Peters would hit for the cycle, but here we are, talking about him again only two weeks after he last graced the cover of Batter’s Box.

Here’s the incredible part: he homered and tripled in the same inning. Cycle watch wasn’t even a thing until he hit a bomb off Justin Sterner in the bottom of the seventh. His White Sox teammates seemed to really want to give him the chance to complete the cycle, so they kept hitting, and hitting, and hitting until Peters got back up to the plate. He then hit one right by first base and turned on the jets, just barely reaching third in time to seal the deal.

I spoke about Peters in my previous Batter’s Box featuring him, but he’s a really fun player. Not one with a lot of power, but he has a ton of hustle and decent contact skills that make him a regular in a scorching hot White Sox lineup. He won’t do this every day, and in fact, regression wouldn’t be surprising over the long run of the season, but as of now, he’s having a really awesome season for a guy who was on very few people’s radars entering 2026.

Peters finished the game with a statline of 4-4, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI. This was the third cycle of the season and the seventh in White Sox history.

Tristan Peters (CHW): 4-4, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday…

Miguel Vargas (CHW): 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

As much as I seem to end up featuring Miguel Vargas, I’m not tired of it. He is really living up to his potential this season and has been the White Sox’s most valuable player without a doubt. The key to his success is his superhuman eye, which is arguably the best outside of Juan Soto. He didn’t have any of his signature walks yesterday, but he did have three extra-base hits in the routing of the Athletics. He also hit a barrelled sacrifice fly in the fifth that would have been out of a few ballparks. Vargas is pretty easily a top 5 third baseman moving forward and any fantasy managers currently rostering him are definitely stoked.

Wilyer Abreu (BOS): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

I feel like I’m always highlighting Wilyer Abreu in these articles, but that’s because he’s really good and he’s the kind of player who gets his hits in bunches. He just needed to get that elusive triple and Peters wouldn’t have been the only player to get a triple yesterday. Abreu is a player who is pretty consistent value-wise from season to season. This year, he shaved off some bat speed for better discipline, and it’s given him a higher batting average and on-base percentage than in the past couple of seasons.

Junior Caminero (TBR): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

The incredible home run streak for Junior Caminero ended over the past weekend. So what does he do? He starts another. He hit one the day before against the Yankees deep into right field, and yesterday he followed it up with another oppo shot. That kind of opposite-field power is pretty rare to see, but Caminero can hit it all over the park (and all over behind the fences). He also hit a double in this game and opened with a walk, which highlights his improved discipline and contact ability that has allowed him to be in the MVP race this season. I know that fantasy managers who drafted Caminero high are feeling pretty good about their decision right about now.

Elly De La Cruz (CIN): 2-5, 3B, HR, 2 R, RBI.

Elly De La Cruz is so fun. The Reds’ franchise player hasn’t quite had the dominant season we expected due to missing some time and a bit of a slow May/June, but he’s been raking as of late, and it’s always fun to watch, especially against a divisional opponent. He hit a triple and a home run similar to Peters, though no cycle. This game was a great representation of what Elly can do, as he can hit for serious power and is also able to turn on the jets and turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples. He’s maybe the most toolsy infielder in the game.

James Wood (WSN): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.

Another day, another James Wood gem. Seriously, he’s one of the best players in baseball, yet he still feels underrated, largely because there are so many good hitters right now. He now has 26 home runs and a 160 wRC+ on the season, which is seriously impressive for such a young player. He will continue to grow into more power and I know I’m definitely excited to see what kind of numbers he’ll put up in the future. He very well could be going in the first round in fantasy drafts next season, especially with the offense surrounding him continuing to improve.

Victor Mesa (TBR): 3-4, HR, R, RBI, SB.

Victor Mesa Jr. is one of the overlooked players with rough basic stats whom I really believe in. His numbers have really improved as of late, largely due to games like this, and it does feel somewhat sustainable. He does plenty of things well, besides just having an absolute cannon of an arm. He pulls for power like crazy, which allows him to hit home runs with his well-above-average bat speed. He is also surprisingly disciplined even if he strikes out a fair bit, as he works at-bats really well and has a double-digit walk rate. He also nabbed a stolen base in this game, which showcases his value on the basepaths. He might not be quite worth bringing onto your teams yet, but he’s really developing into a great player now that he’s getting more reps at the big league level.

Anthony Seigler (BOS): 2-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

The Red Sox are on an absolute tear right now, and Anthony Seigler is playing a big role in that. All of a sudden, the trade that sent Kyle Harrison to Milwaukee is looking a bit less lopsided, especially with Caleb Durbin coming into his own as well of late. Seigler is a really fun hitter overall. He’s pretty well-rounded, showcasing great discipline and rarely striking out. He doesn’t have a lot of power, but in games like this, he’s shown that he can hit one out of the park. He’s been leading off for the Red Sox during this hot stretch, and that makes him a viable option for fantasy teams, as the runs will come as the offense performs.

Chase DeLauter (CLE): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.

It’s great to see that Chase DeLauter is back to mashing like crazy. He opened the season as one of the best hitters in baseball, but of course, inevitably slowed down and then dealt with missing some time due to injury. Well, now he’s back and raking again, hitting third in the Guardians lineup. He’s going to play an important role down the stretch, with the Guardians needing him to produce if they want to win the AL Central. Not only does he have the ability to get hot like this, but his great discipline and contact skills make his floor a lot higher than many other rookies.

Kazuma Okamoto (TOR): 1-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB.

With his three-run shot last night, Kazuma Okamoto tied Shohei Ohtani for the most home runs by a Japanese rookie with 22. While streaky, Okamoto has overall put together an incredible first year with a Toronto Blue Jays team that has struggled to get much going offensively. You can argue that he’s an even better hitter than Bo Bichette, especially with all the power that he has flashed recently. I’m curious to see if he will hit 40 home runs this season, it all of a sudden seems more possible than one may have thought.

Jake Burger (TEX): 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI.

This game gave us the ultimate battle with two Rangers on the base: Jake Burger vs. Bryan King. It’s rare for the pivotal moment of the game to be the Burger King battle, but it was. Burger hit a whopping shot off of King, 407 feet deep into the park, to break the game open. Burger has definitely struggled a bit since becoming a Ranger, but when he gets hot, it feels like fantasy managers have it their way.