Fantasy owners must always be aware of players swinging the hot bat. Maybe you’re dealing with the early struggles of players like Francisco Lindor, Randy Arozarena or Aaron Judge. Maybe you just want more depth on your roster in case there’s an injury. Maybe you just want to prevent your opponents from picking up a bat that could potentially hurt you.
No matter what the reason is, it is your job to know whose bat can help.
But wouldn’t it be nice to pick someone up who can provide long-term production? Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to race to pick up players like Connor Joe and were able to add someone you didn’t have to drop a few weeks (or even days) later?
Cubs rookie Michael Busch could be that guy.
In his last 13 games before Friday, Busch was 17-for-47 (.362) with six homers, 13 RBIs, nine runs and a 1.234 OPS. That stretch included going deep in five straight games.
Busch entered the weekend ranked 18th in the NL in RBIs, tied for second in homers, third in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS, 14th in on-base percentage and 22nd in walk rate. That’s in addition to his 93.8 mph average exit velocity ranking in the top 5 percent of the league, and his barrel rate sitting in seventh.
There’s more!
Busch’s xSLG (.712) is in the top 1 percent of the league, and his .453 weighted on-base percentage (WOBA) and .454 xWOBA are in the top 3 percent. He’s in the 88th percentile with his sweet-spot percentage, the 85th percentile with his hard-hit rate and his xBA (.296) points to only a little regression.
Busch has some amazing quality-of-contact numbers, all which seem to mirror what he did in the minors, where he had a .293/.385/.544 slash line over four seasons while hitting 79 homers with 267 RBIs, 292 runs and a .919 OPS.
If there were any concerns, it would be Busch’s 27.1 percent strikeout rate, which entered Friday as the 22nd-highest in the league, and his struggles against left-handed pitchers. Though he’s crushing righties (.353, 6 HRs, 12 RBIs, 1.198 OPS), he’s flailing against lefties (.111, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .311 OPS).
Outside of that, there are no red flags. Not even his struggles against fastballs during his far-from-memorable 27-game appearance in the majors last year with the Dodgers (.167, two homers, seven RBIs, .539 OPS), is worrisome. According to Baseball Savant, he hit .118 with a 26.5 percent whiff rate against fastballs in 2023. This year, he’s hitting .378 and a 19.5 percent whiff rate.
Is Busch going to continue at his current pace (.317, 6 HR, 13 RBIs, 10 R, 1.067 OPS)? Unlikely, especially with his .361 BaBIP indicating some good luck, but Roto Rage believes this is a player who can be a solid addition to your roster well beyond his hot start. Pitchers may eventually find and exploit another weakness in his swing, but you have the potential to add a bat that can bring a solid average and 25-plus homers to your lineup.
It also doesn’t hurt that Busch is eligible at first and third base, and has been hitting fifth or sixth — mostly sixth — in a solid Cubs lineup.
Busch was the most-added player in ESPN leagues this week, but remains about 40 percent available. He has the opportunity (and ability) to thrive and if he’s still available in your league, you should jump on the chance to have Busch planted on your roster.
A look at some other bats to consider grabbing:
Nathaniel Lowe started the season on the injured list with an oblique issue but could return to the Rangers’ lineup as early as next week. This is a guy who hit .276 while averaging 21 homers, 77 RBIs, 79 runs and a .799 OPS over the past three seasons, and will hit in the middle of a great offense. As of Friday, he was rostered in less than 20 percent of ESPN leagues. Grab him while you can.
Baltimore’s Colton Cowser (59 percent rostered) had at least one RBI in six of his past nine games before Friday while hitting .382 with four homers, 14 RBIs, three stolen bases and a 1.274 OPS.
San Diego’s Jurickson Profar (18.8 percent) had at least one hit in 12 of his past 14 games before Friday, going 15-for-48 (.313) with two homers, 11 RBIs, eight runs and a .931 OPS. He has four games against the Rockies this week (in Colorado), a team that entered the weekend with a league-worst 6.01 ERA, .293 opponents average and the lowest strikeout total of any pitching staff.
Jackson Merrill (36.3 percent), another Padre, is not only eligible in the outfield and shortstop, but he’s hitting .333 with a homer, eight RBIs, four stolen bases and a .845 OPS. All four of his stolen bases have come over his past 10 games in which he hit .417 with a .947 OPS.
Big hits
Reid Detmers SP, Angels
Striking out a career-high 11.9 per nine while walking 2.8 per nine. He’s 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and .195 opponents average.
Amed Rosario 2B/SS/OF, Rays
Entered Friday with an eight-game hit streak, and at least one hit in 10 of his previous 11 games. He was hitting .339 with a .882 OPS on the year.
Ranger Suarez SP, Phillies
No runs allowed over his last two starts (15 innings) while going 2-0 with a 16-3 strikeout-walk rate and .177 opponents average.
Vinnie Pasquantino 1B, Royals
After hitting .108 with no homers or RBIs and a .322 OPS in his first 10 games, he entered the weekend on a seven-game hit streak, during which he’s hitting .500 with three homers, 10 RBIs and 1.650 OPS.
Big whiffs
Hunter Brown SP, Astros
He’s allowed a homer in each of his last three starts and is 0-3 with a 14.90 ERA and .480 opponents average in that span. He’s allowed 24 hits and 16 earned runs over his last 9 ²/₃ innings.
Julio Rodriguez OF, Mariners
Not only had he not homered this season, he was striking out almost 35 percent of the time. Walked four times, just twice in his last 14 games.
David Bednar RP, Pirates
Owned a 2.25 ERA and 61 saves from 2021-23, but has three blown saves, with a 16.20 ERA and .320 opponents’ average in his last six outings.
Joey Gallo 1B/OF, Nationals
Though his 15.3 percent walk rate ranks ninth in the majors, his 43.1 percent strikeout rate is the worst. Hitting .136 doesn’t help, either.
Check swings
– Jordan Westburg raised his average from .194 to .317 in eight games before Friday after hitting .448 with three homers, nine RBIs, two stolen bases and a 1.377 OPS.
– Not only is Pittsburgh’s Jared Jones striking out 36.4 percent of the batters he faces, he’s walking just 2.3 percent. Opponents are hitting .188 against him and he has a 19.8 percent swinging strike rate, including 26.4 percent with his slider. Underlying numbers don’t point to a ton of regression, either. He should be more than just 50 percent rostered.
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– Mason Miller pitched eight straight scoreless innings with a 16-3 strikeout-walk rate and four saves (in four chances) in his last six outings before Friday. Opponents hit .111 against him during that span.
– Marcell Ozuna entered Friday with a 16-game hit streak, going 25-for-66 (.379) with eight homers, 23 RBIs, 13 runs and a 1.219 OPS. He has at least one RBI in 10 of his past 13 games.
– There should be no rush to add Jack Leiter, who allowed seven runs over 3 ²/₃ innings in his debut. He struck out three, walked three and exited the start with a 17.18 ERA and .421 opponents’ average.
– If you do have a roster spot available, Nick Lodolo (30.4 percent rostered) and Edward Cabrera (14.5 percent) made their season debuts this week. Both issued one free pass and struck out 10. Lodolo had a 17.6 percent swinging strike rate while Cabrera hit 18.7 percent.
Team name of the week
Horton Hears a Yu
