The fish are swarming!
Over the last week, Kyle Stowers, Agustin Ramirez and Otto Lopez have combined for 30 hits, 16 extra-base hits and 27 RBI, and each have an OPS over 1.200. None of them are exactly household names — at this point, Stowers probably should be — but they deserve their praise.
In honor of the surging Marlins, who’ve now won seven straight games, it’s time to single out some of the unsung heroes who are powering their respective lineups in this week’s power rankings:
The Rockies acquired Tyler Freeman for Nolan Jones right before the season. In June, Freeman has the highest batting average (.373) and fourth-highest OPS (.985) among all qualified MLB right fielders.
Maybe he hasn’t played enough to be considered here, but Kyle Teel was on fire last week. And in a year that’s all about figuring out who could be part of the next great White Sox team, the 23-year-old catcher is providing reasons for optimism. He has a .421 on-base percentage and 136 OPS+ since getting called up.
Jacob Wilson is still the odds-on AL Rookie of the Year favorite for good reason. But fellow A’s rookie Nick Kurtz has a .934 OPS and seven homers in June, tied for the most home runs among all MLB first basemen this month.
Andrew McCutchen had five hits over the Pirates’ staggering three-game sweep of the Mets this weekend and at 38 years old remains one of Pittsburgh’s most consistent bats.
The Nationals desperately need another hitter beyond James Wood and CJ Abrams to help pick up the offense. Luis Garcia Jr. is hitting .292 in June and hitting the ball harder than ever before.
The fish are flying. After sweeping the Giants and Diamondbacks, the Marlins have now won seven straight with an offense that’s humming. There are probably better answers here for the season than Otto Lopez, but what he’s doing lately needs to be singled out: Over his last seven games, he has a 1.200 OPS with 15 RBI.
Ryan O’Hearn might be the American League starting DH in the All-Star Game, but Ramón Laureano has the highest OPS on the team (.863). Both could be attractive pieces to other clubs at the deadline if the Orioles don’t get hot in a hurry.
Bobby Witt Jr. is obviously this team’s best player, but Maikel Garcia has been the better hitter this year and deserved more love in All-Star voting. As for the team, the offense is overly reliant on those two. The Royals have now lost seven of their last eight games, with runs at a premium.
On a team with Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies, the club’s third-best overall hitter right now is rookie Drake Baldwin (130 wRC+).
Coming off an All-Star appearance last year, Willi Castro is again hitting at an above-league-average rate while playing all over the diamond.
If not for an extra-inning win against the Blue Jays, the slumping Guardians would’ve lost every game last week. They’ve been shut out in three of their last four games and rank 27th in OPS, so there’s clearly not much here to get excited about in the lineup beyond José Ramírez and Steven Kwan, but Kyle Manzardo’s 13 homers are important for a team that lacks offensive punch.
The tailspin continues. The Red Sox were swept by the Angels, lost a series to the Blue Jays and have now dropped seven of eight. Their offense ranks 27th in wRC+ since trading Rafael Devers, but Romy Gonzalez’s ability to crush left-handed pitching (.352/.426/.648) remains helpful at first base.
With Corbin Carroll and Josh Naylor both banged up, the power of Eugenio Suárez is all the more important. The 33-year-old has the highest OPS+ of his career (141) and is tied for the fourth-most home runs in MLB with 25.
Suddenly, the Angels are only two games out of a wild-card spot. Jo Adell seems to be putting things together at 26, leading the club with 18 home runs.
The offense remains an enigmatic disaster, but Josh Smith deserves his flowers. He was an above-league-average hitter last year, and the versatile infielder has the same OPS as Corey Seager this year.
This version of J.P. Crawford looks more like the one that got down-ballot MVP votes two years ago. Cal Raleigh’s the obvious star in Seattle, but Crawford’s bounce-back season has been an important part of the Mariners’ offensive improvements.
How important is Matt Chapman to this lineup? The Giants were 38-28 when he went down and are 7-11 since. They had the Marlins and White Sox on the schedule last week and went 1-5. That’s not how that’s supposed to go. Chapman’s expected back before the break.
The Reds just picked up series wins against the Yankees and Padres, and Elly De La Cruz is looking more like the MVP talent he’s capable of being. Beyond their star, we’re starting to see more turnarounds from other members of the offense, too. Spencer Steer has 19 hits in his last 43 at-bats.
Utility infielder Ernie Clement is hitting .379 with a .959 OPS over his last 30 games. The Blue Jays are only three games back of the first-place Yankees after taking series from the Guardians and Red Sox. A four-game series against the Bronx Bombers awaits this week.
Their offense lacks depth beyond stars Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill, which has made Gavin Sheets’ contributions to this point (.798 OPS, 13 home runs) essential.
A bevy of above-average bats continue to lift this surprising St. Louis club. Brendan Donovan will probably (and rightfully) be the Cardinals’ All-Star rep as a reserve, but Alec Burleson is tied with Donovan for the team lead in wRC+ and has the highest OPS (.804) on the team.
The Brewers keep rolling, and Sal Frelick and Brice Turang are a perfect duo to personify how they’re doing it. The team leaders in WAR, Frelick and Turang have enjoyed similar above league-average offensive seasons while leading the team in batting average, stealing a combined 32 bases and playing plus defense.
Uh, Mets? They just got outscored 30-4 over the weekend by the Pirates and have now dropped 13 of their last 16 games, despite Juan Soto looking like Juan Soto again. Beyond the $765 million man, Brandon Nimmo has also been one of the Mets’ top producers lately. He has hits in 22 of his last 26 games and an .879 OPS in June, but it’s tough sledding right now in Queens.
You might have heard about Jonathan Aranda’s hot start and Junior Caminero’s power, but the Rays’ offensive success goes well beyond them. Brandon Lowe leads all MLB second basemen in home runs, while Yandy Díaz is hitting over .400 in June.
When Jazz Chisholm Jr. is healthy, he’s producing in the Bronx. He has the second-highest OPS on the team behind Aaron Judge. After hitting 30% above league average with the Yankees in the second half last year, he is again hitting exactly 30% above league average this year.
Perhaps lost a bit in the shuffle given what Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong are doing, Michael Busch has the second-highest OPS on the team and is slashing .309/.385/.617 with seven homers in June.
Is Trea Turner too good a player to mention here? There aren’t a lot of even league-average hitters in this Phillies lineup, and with Bryce Harper out, Kyle Schwarber needs a partner to guide the offense. He has that in Turner, whose strong June (.856 OPS, six homers, six steals) has been vital.
The Astros are soaring. They’re 19-7 in June, just swept the Phillies and took a series from the Cubs. Jeremy Peña has been the team’s star, but the returns from the Kyle Tucker trade have been indispensable. Isaac Paredes has 17 home runs on the year and Cam Smith has an .848 OPS in June, all the more important now with Peña sidelined.
Zach McKinstry trails only Riley Greene in WAR among position players on the team. He has an OPS over .800, ranks fourth on the squad in wRC+ and leads the team with 10 steals. He had a career .643 OPS in five previous seasons.
Suddenly, the Dodgers’ lead in the NL West is up to seven games. The unsung hero could either be Max Muncy or Andy Pages, but since Muncy’s a two-time All-Star, let’s shout out Pages, who’s second on the star-studded squad in hits and homers and tied for the team lead in RBI while hitting 30% above league average.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.
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