Derrick Boyd

@BaseballHQ Facts & Flukes Columnist, @FSWA member

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Luis Garcia Jr has been on an absolute tear over the last 6 weeks:

141 PA
17 HR
.331/.369/.782
1.151 OPS
.451 ISO
.424 xwOBA
207 wRC+
45 RBI 👀
14% K% / 6% BB%
92.1 EV
74.1 mph BatSpd

Called up at age-20, this is his 7th season in the majors, but he just turned 26 in May.

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Fernando Tatis from 30 May - 30 June 2026:

127 PA
5 HR / 5 SB
.311/.346/.513
95.9 EV
.385 xwOBA
138 wRC+
5% BB% / 17% K%
44/20/36 - GB/LD/FB

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

There are only 5 SP (min. 50 IP) with a Whiff% over 33%. 4 of them are aces. The other is not...yet.

1. J. Misiorowski (38% Whiff; 39% K%)
2. D. Cease (38% Whiff; 36% K%)
3. C. Burns (33% Whiff; 30% K%)
4. J. deGrom (33% Whiff; 30% K%)

5. J. Soriano (33% Whiff; 26% K%)

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Player A is Elly De La Cruz

Player B is Fernando Tatis

The thin line between success and underperforming

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

These batters were both first round picks in many 2026 drafts.

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

These batters were both first round picks in many 2026 drafts.

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

2026 hitters with both elite bat speed (75+ mph) and Sprint Speed (29+ ft/s)

L. Robert - 76/29
G. Mitchell - 76.9/29.7
C. Carroll - 75.1/29.6
J. Walker - 78.8/29
C. Smith - 77.4/29.1
H. Bolte - 77.6/30.1
K. Griffin - 75.4/29.8

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

@baseball441771 @RobSilver He turns 20 one week from today. 2026 is his age-20 season.

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Interesting list of 9 bats with at least 74 mph bat speed & 28.5 ft/s sprint speed in 2026. Oldest to youngest.

1. M. Trout (34)
2. J. Duran (29)
3. L. Robert (28)
4. D. Clarke (26)
5. C. Carroll (25)
6. J. Walker (24)
7. C. Smith (23)
8. J. Fernandez (22)
9. K. Griffin (20)

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Jose Soriano's opening day start did nothing to dissuade me from expecting a big improvement in 2026.

Despite walking 4, he threw strikes (34% Ball%), missed a ton of bats (18.7% SwK%; 41.3 Whiff%), topped out at 101.3 mph, and continued to be MLB's top worm killer (69% GB%).

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Brayan Bello's velo is down a couple ticks and he's not throwing strikes, but his arsenal is missing an insane amount of bats (19% SwStr%) and inducing grounders at a very high rate (59% GB%).

Despite the poor results I'm holding to see how this turns out.

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Brayan Bello may be onto something with his new curveball. It missed bats at a very high rate (53% Whiff%) this Spring, causing his K% to spike to over 29%.

I'd grab him and see if it holds.

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Jose Soriano's opening day start did nothing to dissuade me from expecting a big improvement in 2026.

Despite walking 4, he threw strikes (34% Ball%), missed a ton of bats (18.7% SwK%; 41.3 Whiff%), topped out at 101.3 mph, and continued to be MLB's top worm killer (69% GB%).

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Brayan Bello may be onto something with his new curveball. It missed bats at a very high rate (53% Whiff%) this Spring, causing his K% to spike to over 29%.

I'd grab him and see if it holds.

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

@EricCrossMLB I'd add S. Ohtani to the list. 30 HR is a lock. How much does he want to run is the question.

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Geraldo Perdomo may have figured out the not-so-secret formula for hitting more HRs w/out swinging from his heels: Lift and Pull!

April - July: 476 PA, 4.3% SwStr%, 11 HR, .149 ISO, 17.7% Pull Air%

Aug - Sept: 244 PA, 3.5% SwStr%, 9 HR, .218 ISO, 24.2% Pull Air%

[MLB @MLB]

Cole Ragans is making his first start in over 3 months.

He struck out Randy Arozarena, Cal Raleigh, and Julio Rodríguez on just 11 pitches in the 1st inning!

[Matt Miller @nfldraftscout]

Derrick Henry's high school stats will never not be jaw-dropping.

(h/t @NateD2207)

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

T. O'Neill's results have been poor. A look under the hood indicates that he's been more unfortunate than actually bad or incapable:

.310/.388 wOBA/xwOBA - 95th%

.434/.598 SLG/xSLG - 98th%

18.9% Barrell% - 98th%

74 mph swing - 77th%

28.2 Sprint Speed - 72nd%

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Daulton Varsho has hit 15 HR in 170 PA this season, which put his him on a 57 HR pace at 650 PA.

While that's probably not realistic, his power does seem to have taken a step forward in this his age-28 season.

SLG: .591
xSLG: .558

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Vinnie Pasquantino last week (17-24 Aug 25) 🔥

36 PA
6 HR
.333/.389/.939
94.4 EV
.606 ISO
19% K%
6% BB%

[Derrick Boyd @DerrickBHQ]

Mark Vientos last week (17 - 24 Aug 25) 🔥

31 PA
5 HR
.357/.387/.964
96.5 EV
.607 ISO
16% K%
7% BB%