It’s been a longgggg time coming, the return of Ian Desmond. So many people, myself included, were really high on him in the preseason, and then his injury happened and he was going to be out for a significant amount of time. But finally, on April 30th, people got to have Ian Desmond back in their lineups. He started off somewhat slow (though he snagged a stolen base in his second game), and then exploded on Wednesday night, going 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. Yea, welcome back Ian Desmond, and way to put aside any of those fears people may have had about whether you’d be any good in Colorado. It’s nice to have him back.
Let’s take a look at some of Wednesday’s other noteworthy performances:
Steve Pearce (1B/OF, TOR) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. MVPearce making himself known once again after having a ridiculous 4-4, two home run game on Tuesday, smacks another home run on Wednesday. It’s worth noting though that he’s still barely above .200 on the year, and these three home runs are his first all year.
Matt Holliday (OF, NYY) – 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. This is what Holliday is good at: hitting home runs and driving in runs. He’s having a nice year, and if you can deal with what will likely be an injury at some point (and the stretches where he won’t play while the Yankees are visiting an NL team), then Holliday is your guy.
Aaron Judge (OF, NYY) – 3-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. I will keep saying because he keeps doing it: Aaron Judge is a monster power hitter, and thank god he’s keeping that average up too, that was the biggest concern. Major props to Judge for drastically reducing his strikeout rate and increasing his walk rate, let’s hope he can keep it up.
Chris Owings (SS/OF, ARI) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. It’s been a really nice start to the year for Chris Owings, and he continued that on Wednesday with a solo home run.
Andrew McCutchen (OF, PIT) – 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. It’s been tough to own McCutchen, but he’ll turn it around, and Wednesday’s game will hopefully be a sign of things to come.
Billy Hamilton (OF, CIN) – 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Billy Hamilton hit a home run? You bet he did.
Eugenio Suarez (3B, CIN) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. A nice start to the year for Eugenio Suarez, and I’m buying it to an extent. The average will come down some thanks to an elevated BABIP, but in general, I like what I see.
Devin Mesoraco (C, CIN) – 1-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. After struggling like crazy all year so far, Mesoraco finally had his first useful game. Still though, I’m not expecting much from him this year.
J.T. Realmuto (C, MIA) – 2-5, 2 R, 4 RBI. Really nice overall game for Realmuto. I’m somewhat surprised though that he hasn’t stolen a base yet, but it’s still early.
Marcell Ozuna (OF, MIA) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Ozuna absolutely demolished a home run on Wednesday night, crushing a ball 468 feet. Ozuna’s a good power hitter, and fortunately, the average has kept up too. If he can keep both up, he will be a major asset.
Daniel Robertson (SS, TB) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Hey, good for Daniel Robertson, but there’s nothing to see here.
Jose Reyes (3B, NYM) – 2-4, 1 R, 5 RBI. Jose Reyes has been pumping out the runs and RBIs, but his terrible average has been rough. On the bright side, he’s batted .367 over his last eight games, and all three of his homers have been in that stretch. So who knows, maybe things are going to turn around.
Yonder Alonso (1B, OAK) – 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. You know what’s crazy? I actually believe Yonder Alonso is somewhat legit. Sure, he’s got a .347 BABIP, so the average will come down a bit, but Alonso has changed his approach at the plate, and I think the power could be real. In just 25 games, he’s three home runs away from his career best. The hard hit rate has shot up to 40%, and the HR/FB rate has shot up with it. Now, like I said, I think things will normalize a bit, but this could be a very different Yonder Alonso than what we expected.
Kennys Vargas (1B, MIN) – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 5 RBI. Vargas has been productive when he’s played, only problem is, his playing is incredibly inconsistent, which makes him very difficult to own.
Josh Reddick (OF, HOU) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Josh Reddick has quietly been having a really nice year. I’ve said it before, if he stays healthy, I don’t know why he can’t repeat his 2015 year.
Carlos Correa (SS, HOU) – 4-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Hey, Carlos Correa is pretty good. He’s had a rough start to the year, but things are picking up and will continue to do so.
Marwin Gonzalez (1B/3B, HOU) – 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. The Astros had a nice night on Wednesday and Gonzalez got to join in on the fun. His playing has been slightly inconsistent, but he’s been pretty productive when he’s out there, aside from the average.
Jose Abreu (1B, CWS) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. The only somewhat bright spot on an otherwise anemic White Sox offense.
Mike Trout (OF, LAA) – 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Hey, Mike Trout is pretty good. It’s too bad the Angels are completely wasting the prime of such a special player.
Jean Segura (SS/2B, SEA) – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI. Man, it’s good to have Jean Segura back, isn’t it?
Robinson Cano (2B, SEA) – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Robinson Cano is a good baseball player, breaking news.
Why even include the players in which the commentary is “This _____ guy is pretty good”?. Adds no value to the post. Makes more sense to focus on low % owned players doing well, or high % owned players doing poorly, or monster nights for either group.
Hi Andrew!
Generally, the purpose of the Batter’s Box is to highlight hitting performances of the previous day, plain and simple (similar to the SP Roundup). That includes high-owned players and low-owned players, which is why they’re all included here.