Left At Peralta

David Peralta (ARI): 5-6, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 R, 7 RBI.

The Diamondbacks slugged it out with the Reds in Cinncinatti Thursday and Arizona’s left fielder and clean-up hitter David Peralta was at the center of it all. Peralta collected five hits through six at-bats, including a 111.8 mph home run that traveled 408 feet to go along with and a triple and three singles, leading to two runs scored and seven RBI on the day. Peralta was aggressive at the plate in this one, swinging at half of the pitches he saw and making contact with each swing. Though he collected four hard hits on the night, Peralta sits with a 32.7% hard-hit rate on the season, which would be his lowest of his career though it goes along with a strikeout rate below 20% and a walk rate above 10%.

Peralta continues to try to prove his reputation for not being able to stay on then field are behind him after starting 18 of the Diamondback’s first 19 games and playing in 54 of the 60 games in 2020. The everyday left fielder for the Diamondbacks has enjoyed a recent surge going 10 for his last 20, bringing his slash line up to .269/.347/.478 on the season.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday

Kyle Higashioka (NYY): 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB.

Since his two-homer night 10 days prior, Higashioka had gone hitless in the four games he appeared in until returning to his multi-hitting ways Thursday including a 420 foot solo homer off a Cal Quantrill sinker in the 8th inning. Higashioka continues to play back up to Gary Sanchez in New York, but typically takes advantage of the limited opportunities he’s given.

Gleyber Torres (NYY): 3-5, 1 R, 1 RBI.

After starting off the game with a strikeout, which has been par for the coarse for Torres this season, the Yankees’ shortstop went on to collect three hits on the night in an attempt to push himself out of his early-season funk. In the early going Torres has struggled to hit fastballs to a tune of 31.1% whiff rate compared to 18.6% rate in 2020, so it’s not a surprise to see 56% of the pitches he saw in this game be 4-seamers.

Jesse Winker (CIN): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Winker continues to impress from the top of the Cincinnati line up, extending his current hit streak to seven games with this multi-hit performance. Both his hits came way of the long ball, including his 109.6 mph blast to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Winker is entrenched in the leadoff spot for the Reds and shows no signs of relinquishing his spot (again) anytime soon.

Nick Castellanos (CIN): 2-6, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI.

Castellanos took a little bit to warm up in his return from his two-game suspension. Before just clearing the wall in the 6th inning, Castellanos’ first two at-bats results in weakly hit outs. Chalk it up to having a few days off as Castellanos has been impressive to start the season, now batting .299 with an xBA of .368 and an xSLG of .729. He may be walking less but he’s striking out less as well, which is saying something for a guy who’s career K% is just 23.2%.

Josh Rojas (ARI): 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB.

After an abysmal start, Rojas has seen his playing time dwindle for the Diamondbacks. Now starting in 3 of the last 6 games for Arizona, Rojas is attempting to bring himself back in favor, collecting four hits in those starts, including two on Thursday. Though it’s going to take a bit more to get Rojas back in the lineup with any regularity, it’s a sign in the right direction for the young shortstop.

Adam Frazier (PIT): 3-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 SB.

With this three-hit outing, including a 102.2 mph double to lead off Thursday’s match up against the Tigers, Frazier now has seven multi-hit performances in his last thirteen games. Frazier is now hitting an impressive .329/.415/.471 on the season, while the stolen base was his second on the year. Frazier’s 7.3% K rate puts him in the top 2% of the league while his 11% walk rate isn’t hurting his chances to stay at the top of the Pirates’ line up for a while.

Carlos Correa (HOU): 2-5, 3 R, 2 RBI.

Correa has quietly put together a nice start in 2021, with this two-hit night bringing his early-season slash line up. to .282/.338/.465. Though he didn’t collect any hard hits in this game, three of his balls in play did cross 90 mph and Correa sits in the top 1% of the league with a 116.4 mph hit ball earlier in the season.

Trent Grisham (SD): 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB.

Batting out of the two-hole in Los Angeles, Grisham continued to run rampant on the base paths, collecting his fourth stolen base in his last six games. He tacked on a 419 foot blast to go with it to complete the combo meal, his first of the season. Grisham is slashing .318/.412/.614 to go with his .439 WOBA which sits in the top 6% of the league thus far.

Rafael Devers (BOS): 2-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB.

Devers collected two more hard hits in this one, just missing out on a third as his 4th inning single was clocked at a measly 94.1 mph. The 427 foot blast in the second inning was Devers’ sixth of the year and is now sitting in the top 3% of the league with a 23.1% barrel rate. Along with J.D. Martinez, Devers is powering the hot Red Sox offense as shown by his impressive slash line and even more impressive expected numbers.

Sam Haggerty (SEA): 1-1, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB.

Haggerty didn’t start this game but still made his presence known. Initially entering the game as a pinch runner in the 8th, Haggerty stole second at the first opportunity and would go on to score the run that would ultimately lead to extra innings. In the 10th, Haggerty would get his first hit since April 15th, a 104.6 mph double that would score the event winning run of the ballgame. With two stolen bases in limited action this season, Haggerty is a sneaky speed play if he would ever get more time in the Mariners’ line up.