RADIO
Longest Home Run - Aaron Judge (468 feet)
This Titanic blast came off of former Yankee Nestor Cortes in his return to Yankee Stadium on March 29. Judge hit three home runs in that game. The average distance of Judge’s six home runs this year is 416 feet. That means Judge’s six long balls have traveled nearly a half mile. Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich smoked a 465-foot home run at Coors Field Wednesday off of Seth Halvorsen, so Judge’s 468-foot blast isn’t all that safe. He holds the crown for one more week, at least.
Home Runs - Tyler Sodersrom, Wilmer Flores, Mike Trout, Tommy Edman, Kyle Schwarber, and Aaron Judge (6)
It’s a logjam at the top of the home run race with a couple of usual suspects like Judge and Schwarber. Mike Trout is a bit of a surprise after a disappointing 2024 season. Flores, Soderstrom, and Edman are the surprises. Flores, a 33-year-old 12-year major league veteran, has only topped 20 homers in a season once (23 in 2023). On top of that, Flores is second in the majors in RBI (19, one behind Judge). His career high in that category is 71 in 2022. This feels like a career year for Flores, but keep in mind that he has only notched more than 500 at-bats once in 12 years.
Edman may be even more unlikely. His career high in home runs in a season is 13 in both 2022 and 2023. He had more than 1,000 at-bats in those seasons combined. Power isn’t his thing. Edman had 59 homers in 2,336 at-bats coming into the season. Add that to joining an already-loaded Dodgers lineup; everyone thought Edman was a platoon player at best.
Soderstrom is the most likely of the unusual suspects to keep it up. Soderstrom had 12 homers in 314 major league at-bats before this season, but he’s only 23 years old. This kind of improvement is not unheard of at his age, and playing in Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park won’t hurt those numbers either.
Maximum Exit Velocity - Kyle Schwarber and Ryan Mountcastle (116.7 mph)
Mountcastle held the crown in the early going, but Schwarber tied him on Tuesday with a 462-foot home run off of Atlanta’s Chris Sale. Yes, that Chris Sale. The difference is that Schwarber has a 14.8-degree launch angle. That’s good for home runs. Mountcastle’s is just 8.2 degrees.
Hard Hit Percentage - Ben Rice (72.4%)
I know that Rice is a platoon player, but he still has enough batted-ball events (29) to qualify. 21 of Rice’s 29 events have been hit at 95 mph or greater. The hot start may not be a fluke. Rice is smoking the ball right now with the hard-hit percentage and 17.6% barrel percentage.
Blasts - Shohei Ohtani (24)
So, what is a “blast” if it’s not referring to having fun (though I’m sure that Ohtani is having fun)? In Statcast terms, it is when a batter squares up the ball with at least 75 mph bat speed. Think of it as a ball that jumps off a bat. If you’re a former player, this is the type of contact that produces a feeling like no other. Ohtani’s 24 blasts are three ahead of Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, and Corbin Carroll already. Be patient, Ohtani owners. The homers are coming if he keeps putting pitchers on blast.
Batting Average - George Springer (.375)
This category leader is surprising for a variety of reasons. Springer hit by far a career-worst .220 last year in 145 games. On top of that, Springer is a career .251 hitter in March and April — his lowest total in any month over his career. The hot start is definitely something that Toronto wanted to see. Statcast suggests that this isn’t a fluke. Springer’s expected batting average is still a robust .324.
xBA Differential - Andrew Vaughn (-0.153)
The xBA differential is the difference between a player’s actual batting average and his expected average. In this case, Vaughn is hitting a pathetic .102 on the season, but Statcast says that he has been very unlucky. Vaughn’s expected batting average is 153 points higher at .255. That’s more in line with his career number (.250 in 2,116 at-bats).
WAR - Corbin Carroll (1.5)
WAR (wins above replacement) is how much better a player is than the average player at the position. For a position player, a WAR number of 6 is regarded as an All-Star caliber player. Carroll is already at 1.5 just a little over two weeks into the season! He has a long way to go to catch Babe Ruth’s historic 1923 season (14.1 WAR), but Carroll is still off to a fun start!
Stolen Bases - Oneil Cruz (7)
This is surprising since Cruz is known more for his power than his speed. Cruz did tally a 20/20 season last year, but those 22 stolen bases in 2024 were his most in any single season of his career. The fact that he already has seven is a development worth paying attention to.
Swords - Christian Walker (7)
What in the world is a sword, you might ask? It’s a relatively new term in the fantasy lexicon. What it means in layman’s terms is when a pitcher makes a hitter look bad on a swing. Think of a player “stabbing” at the ball instead of a normal, arcing swing. A perfect example would be John Kruk facing Randy Johnson in the 1993 All-Star Game. If you’re too young (or too old) to remember that head over to YouTube and watch it. It’s a perfect example. Walker is off to a slow start (.164 average). His swings so far have a lot to do with that.
ERA - Spencer Schwellenbach (0.45)
Hey, wasn’t it supposed to be a different Spencer dominating opposing teams in a Braves uniform this year? Spencer Strider will make his 2025 debut this week, but the “other” Spencer has done just fine holding down the fort, thank you. The 24-year-old has only allowed one earned run in 20 innings so far this season. Six other pitchers also have an ERA under 1 in the early going. Is 2025 going to be the year of the pitcher?
Strikeouts - Cole Ragans (34)
Ragans’ season got off to an inauspicious start. He allowed three runs on Opening Day while striking out just three batters. In the three games since, he became only the second Royal to notch three consecutive double-digit strikeout games. Think about all of the good, if not great, pitchers who have donned royal blue. David Cone, Zack Greinke, Bret Saberhagen, Dennis Leonard, and Mark Gubicza all had some big seasons in Kansas City. The only other Royal to accomplish that feat before Ragans yesterday was Kevin Appier in 1996.
