We've hit June and the small-sample alarm is no longer sounding — we've played about 38% of the season. Fast starts have more meaning now; they could mean strong seasons. Many players we drafted late or added off the fantasy baseball waiver wire have earned solidified roles on our rosters.
Today's ***** ignment was to locate some surprising hitters and try to determine just how real their fast starts are. Settle in and let's see what we can figure out.
It's important to remember that Vargas was once a rated prospect. He was on everyone's clipboard in 2022 and made the Futures Game. His highest prospect rank came in 2023, when Baseball America listed him at No. 30. Player development is not always linear.
The White Sox are getting a lovely breakout from Vargas this year. His bat speed has improved, his hard-hit metrics are good, his plate-discipline stats are very good. Swinging at strikes and spitting on ***** is the quickest path to success in this game. He's also learned the craft of stealing bases, now 15-for-15 over the past two seasons. And heck, he hasn't even been lucky — his .242 average and .502 slugging lag behind his .262 expected average and .535 expected slugging. Vargas is set up to be one of the strongest right answers of 2026 fantasy baseball.
Marsh has been a plus-offensive player for most of his career, in his fifth straight season with a favorable OPS+. But the timing has been right for a career year at age 28, as he's hit new highs for all the slash categories (.335/.365/.482). We like seeing his strikeout rate moving down, but it's also telling that his walk rate has fallen significantly, too. A dip in walks isn't always a bad thing — sometimes it's a matter of not letting so many hittable strikes pass the zone.
Today's ***** ignment was to locate some surprising hitters and try to determine just how real their fast starts are. Settle in and let's see what we can figure out.
It's important to remember that Vargas was once a rated prospect. He was on everyone's clipboard in 2022 and made the Futures Game. His highest prospect rank came in 2023, when Baseball America listed him at No. 30. Player development is not always linear.
The White Sox are getting a lovely breakout from Vargas this year. His bat speed has improved, his hard-hit metrics are good, his plate-discipline stats are very good. Swinging at strikes and spitting on ***** is the quickest path to success in this game. He's also learned the craft of stealing bases, now 15-for-15 over the past two seasons. And heck, he hasn't even been lucky — his .242 average and .502 slugging lag behind his .262 expected average and .535 expected slugging. Vargas is set up to be one of the strongest right answers of 2026 fantasy baseball.
Marsh has been a plus-offensive player for most of his career, in his fifth straight season with a favorable OPS+. But the timing has been right for a career year at age 28, as he's hit new highs for all the slash categories (.335/.365/.482). We like seeing his strikeout rate moving down, but it's also telling that his walk rate has fallen significantly, too. A dip in walks isn't always a bad thing — sometimes it's a matter of not letting so many hittable strikes pass the zone.
2 hours ago
