RADIO
Longest Home Run - Aaron Judge (468 feet)
Admittedly, this one is not much of a surprise. Still, long home runs fascinate the fans, and it is worth mentioning how far some of these guys can hit a baseball. We’re nowhere close to Mickey Mantle territory, but it’s still April. It’s cold in most of the country yet. This Titanic blast came off of former Yankee Nestor Cortes in his return to Yankee Stadium on March 29. Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich smoked a 465-foot home run at Coors Field on April 9 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 Soderstrom and Cal Raleigh (9)
Soderstrom was also tied for the league lead last week, but a monster week from Raleigh moved him up the list. He hit four home runs last week and has seven homers in his last nine games. The batting average (.233) still leaves something to be desired, but Raleigh’s first real road trip of the season awakened his bat. Playing in a very pitcher-friendly home park does have its drawbacks. Soderstrom remained consistent. He has three home runs in each of the season’s first three weeks.
Maximum Exit Velocity - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (120.4 mph)
The bar was raised quite a lot this week. In fact, four players (Guerrero, Judge, Griffin Conine, and Oneil Cruz) all topped last week’s best exit velocity. Vladdy still only has one home run on the season, but that’s not going to last long. His metrics paint a different picture over the last week. A breakout may be coming soon.
Barrel Percentage - Cal Raleigh (27.6%)
It’s no surprise that Raleigh is tied for the major league lead in home runs. His barrel percentage is almost two percentage points higher than Aaron Judge. Raleigh is tied with Judge in barrels per plate appearance (16.2%). Judge is hitting the ball harder and farther, but it is worth noting that Raleigh’s metrics are right there with Judge in many categories. This didn’t come out of nowhere. The 28-year-old Raleigh has 91 home runs over the last three seasons. Could he still be getting better? The hot start is making us wonder.
Blasts - Pete Alonso and Shohei Ohtani (31)
So, what is a “blast” if it’s not referring to 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 type of contact produces a feeling like no other. Ohtani led the league by a fairly large margin last week. That means it was a hell of a week for Alonso. He recorded 10 blasts this week alone! Alonso hit three doubles, a triple, two homers, and drove in six runs this week. His stock is definitely on the way up.
xBA Differential - Salvador Perez (-0.106)
This crown would go to LaMonte Wade if he had enough plate appearances, but for now, we’ll highlight Perez. His expected batting average is a strong .288, which is more in line with his career mark. Perez is a .266 hitter over his 14-year career. Perez isn’t going to have a season like 2021 (a league-leading 48 homers and 121 RBI), but he can still produce at age 35. The metrics suggest his average will keep climbing.
As for last week’s xBA leader, Andrew Vaughn raised his average 50 points from .102 to .152. It was a good week for Vaughn, which shows that paying attention to differentials can lead you to players who may be heating up after slow starts.
WAR - Fernando Tatis Jr. (2.1)
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. Tatis is already a third of the way there, just three weeks into the season. Babe Ruth’s 14.1 WAR in 1923 isn’t in jeopardy just yet, but to put this into perspective, the 2.1 WAR for Tatis leads the majors, not just position players. Ace pitchers historically have a much higher WAR thanks to 150 or more qualified comparisons. A positional player only has 30 comparisons, thereby strengthening the mean. The fact that Tatis is this much better than other outfielders (another position that gets diluted) is impressive.
Runs Scored - Brice Turang (23)
When you think of the great leadoff hitters in the game right now, Turang’s isn’t one that normally comes up. Maybe we should change that. Milwaukee’s second baseman is leading the majors with 23 runs scored, one ahead of sluggers Fernando Tatis Jr. and Kyle Tucker. Turang scored 72 runs last year in 619 plate appearances. He has scored once every three plate appearances so far this season. That number is unsustainable, but Turang’s numbers are solid across the board, and his teammates are producing. The 25-year-old should produce career highs in many categories this season.
Stolen Bases - Oneil Cruz (10)
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, including the minor leagues. The fact that he already has 10 is a development worth paying attention to. His five homers and 10 steals in 20 games suggest that Cruz could be in for a huge season in roto leagues.
Wins - Max Fried (4)
This may be the most surprising addition to the list so far. Fried’s move to the Bronx this year has gone very well. Not everyone pitches well in pinstripes. Think of all of the high-profile failures that couldn’t cut it in the Bronx. Kevin Brown is the big one, but several never live up to the hype in New York. Even the great Randy Johnson struggled in the Big Apple. The fact that Fried has won four of his first five starts for the Bronx Bombers is not lost on me.
This isn’t quite uncharted waters for Fried. He won 17 games for the Braves in 2019 and won 73 games in eight seasons for the Braves. His career 3.02 ERA (ironically, it was a career-worst 4.02 in 2019) in a live ball ERA is impressive in itself. With this offense behind him. Fried could be in for a huge season at age 31.
ERA - Tyler Mahle (0.68)
That’s right. Mahle has given up just two runs in five starts this year. This is a surprise for a plethora of reasons. Though Mahle is not a bad pitcher, he has a losing record in his career (36-42) and sports a 4.17 ERA in his career. On top of that, he had a 4.97 ERA in three starts for Texas last year. It’s not often that a pitcher turns in a career season at age 30, but keep in mind that Mahle hasn’t pitched more than five games in a season thanks to injury since 2022. His expected ERA (2.78) suggests that this start isn’t a total fluke. It might be worth buying into Mahle this season.
Strikeouts - MacKenzie Gore (45)
Gore was the prize of the ill-fated (for the Padres) Juan Soto trade to San Diego. The Nationals also landed James Wood and CJ Abrams in that deal, but Gore was the “untouchable” prospect in the San Diego system. We are starting to see why. Gore’s 14.0 K/9 is by far the best of any starting pitcher in the league. His overall numbers (2-2, 3.41 ERA) are good but not great, but a guy who misses this many bats is worth keeping an eye on.
Swords - Christian Walker and Bryan Reynolds (9)
We’ll offer a bonus slide just because I like this stat. 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.
It’s not just struggling hitters like Walker who are made to look foolish by pitchers. Reynolds is not off to a bad start, yet we find him here as well. Eugenio Suarez, one of the hottest hitters in the early going, has eight. Soderstrom has seven.
