Myles Straw (HOU): 4-6, 3 R, SB.
Myles Straw found himself batting leadoff for the Astros for the first time since April 25th, and just the fifth time this season. He responded with a four-hit night, all singles, and scoring three times while tacking on a stolen base, his tenth of the season, for good measure. Though this would appear to simply be an opportune situation for Straw, with Jose Altuve receiving a routine day off Thursday, and not even close to a permanent change in manager Dusty Baker’s lineup card, Straw at the very least may have instilled a bit more confidence with Thursday’s performance to warrant more looks at the top of the line up as future situations may require.
After receiving a lot of hype in early draft season after being speculated to be the Houston everyday lead-off hitter, Straw quickly dispelled the excitement for possible cheap speed late in drafts after failing to impress Dusty Baker enough, despite the .310/.341/.429 Spring Training slash line, to fend off teammate Jose Altuve from quickly taking over the top of the order. Straw has almost exclusively batted out of the eighth spot of the Houston lineup this season and despite putting up a slugging percentage below his on-base percentage, has continued to find ways to be fantasy relevant, driven by his nine stolen bases going into Thursday’s matchup.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday
Carlos Correa (HOU): 3-4, R, 3 RBI, 2 BB.
Correa extends his current on-base streak to 10 straight games with his impressive night Thursday and continues to build his resume, anticipating a busy off-season ahead of him as he heads into free agency. The current Houston shortstop is just one of four hitters with an exceptional “3-4-5 slash line” as he sits with .305/.400/.534 slash on the season and his three hard-hit balls on the night put him on the century mark for the season, tying him with Ronal Acuna for 18th most in baseball.
Yordan Alvarez (HOU): 2-6, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.
Because I know how much everyone loves hearing about how well the Astros are doing, let’s tack on one more. Alvarez was no slouch himself as the Astros made quick work of the Tigers on Thursday, extending his own on-base streak to 11 games, a time in which he has slashed .350/.447/.675 with a 209 wRC+ thanks in part to a combined 28 runs and RBI and four home runs, including a 417-foot grand slam in the final inning of Thursday’s game, just to make sure the game was truly out of reach.
Kyle Schwarber (WSH): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.
The hits just keep on coming for Kyle Schwarber, who hit another pair of bombs on Thursday, making it the fourth time in the past 11 games he has gone yard multiple times in a single game. Through June 11th, Schwarber had been hitting .218/.312/.404 with 9 home runs and a 29% strikeout rate. Thanks to the current hot streak Schwarber has been riding, he’s been able to raise his season-long slash to a respectable .245/.330/.544, giving himself a 133 wRC+ on the season. Keep riding the wave while it lasts, but keep in mind Schwarber typically finds a way to bring it crashing down, especially in the month of July.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (MIA): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Chisholm’s performance Thursday was a welcome sight after experiencing a slight power outage over the past two weeks, as the NL Rookie of the Year contender has collected just seven hits and four walks in his previous 47 plate appearances. The eighth-inning homer gives Chisholm nine on the season to go along with his 10 stole bases, keeping him on pace to easily break the 20-20 mark by season’s end and as long as Miami keeps him in the leadoff spot, he should continue to be relied on to provide power and speed through the summer, despite the 31% strikeout rate on the season.
Adam Frazier (PIT): 3-4, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB.
Though teammate Bryan Reynolds may very well be the only Pirate heading to Colorado for the All-Star Festivities, Adam Frazier sure is making a case for a second Pittsburgh bat to join the party. Thanks to his three runs scored on Thursday, the Pirates’ leadoff hitter now sits eighth overall in the National League with 46 on the season, helped considerably by his .396 OBP, good for 10th best in all of baseball. Frazier is a must roster in OBP leagues and his .330 batting average should hold plenty of value despite the Thursday home run being just his fourth of the season.
Bryan Reynolds (PIT): 3-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB.
One of the aforementioned players with an exceptional 3-4-5 slash, Reynolds built on it Thursday by reaching base four times, including his 12th homer of the year, to bring it up to .313/.403/.543. The four RBI helped bring his season total to 42, now tied with his runs scored total. The three-hit game marked Reynolds’ eighth multi-hit performance in his last 11 games. With the Pirates’ upcoming trip to Coors combined with not having another scheduled off day until the All-Star break, Reynolds should be a fixture in all fantasy lineups for the foreseeable future.
Aaron Judge (NYY): 3-3, 2B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Aaron Judge made up for his four-strikeout night on Wednesday by finding his way on base five times Thursday, coming just a triple away from the cycle (though Judge hasn’t hit a triple since September 28, 2019, and has just four triples in his major league career). Judge’s first-inning homer was his first of three hard-hit balls on the day and marked his 16th bomb of the season, though just three of them have come in June. Judge’s 34 barrels on the season puts him tied for third with Rafael Devers across all of baseball, behind only Shohei Ohtani (40) and Ronald Acuña Jr./strong> (36).
Gary Sánchez (NYY): 2-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Remember all the talk about how Kyle Higashioka was going to overtake Sanchez for the majority of catching duties? Gary Sanchez doesn’t. In case you haven’t noticed, Sanchez has been on fire through the month of June, slashing .313/.371/.734 through his last 70 plate appearances, tacking on seven home runs through the month, including his 421-foot blast in the sixth inning on Thursday’s game. Sanchez’ 130 wRC+ leads all American League catchers with at least 200 plate appearances on the season.
Nick Castellanos (CIN): 2-3, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB.
Castellanos has collected a hit in all but 11 of his 68 games played this season, with Thursday’s performance being his 30th multi-hit game of the season. The current National League batting title leader now sits 13 points above the closest competitor in Adam Frazier, and sits behind just Fernando Tatis Jr and teammate Jesse Winker with the third-highest wRC+ across the National League.
Featured Imaged by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter)