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Ruiz is on Fire. Bazzana is on Another Planet.
Someone left us a YouTube comment recently asking, “Where do I start researching baseball? Are hot batters a good starting point?”
Both valid questions. For the first one, I pointed them to our latest tutorial, which you can find here:
And the second part of that comment gave us the inspiration for today’s newsletter. We’re going to highlight two hitters in baseball that are seeing pitches well right now, and could carry that into today’s slate. Plus a hot-hitters sheet that highlights several more, from our friend WallaBets.
Hot Hitters
Keibert Ruiz, Washington Nationals
Keibert Ruiz is on fire, hitting .409 over his last 6 games, with a hit in six straight and nine hits in that stretch.
There hasn’t been much power in the bat - with 7 of the 9 hits being singles and only one leaving the yard. He enters today’s game red hot and with a solid matchup. Ruiz has gone to the plate 14 times in his career against Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo, and the edge has gone to Ruiz.
It’s worth noting that the hot bat and the history are two things to like here, but Luzardo is elite, and the matchup at the plate will still be tough. Luzardo is averaging 5.3 hits allowed and 1.0 earned runs allowed on the road this season.
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Travis Bazzana
There is no hitter in baseball hotter than Bazzana.
The former first overall pick has a .476 average and an OPS under just 1.600 in his last six games, with:
21 total bases in that stretch
25 total combined hits, runs, and RBIs
He’s seeing his pitches well, with only three strikeouts in that span
8 runs scores
And 10 hits in his 14 at-bats versus right-handed pitchers, which he faces again today in White Sox starter Sean Burke.
He has no history against Burke, but Burke has shown signs of cracking in recent starts. Between March, April, and May, Burke averaged 4.7 hits allowed and 2.3 earned runs per start. In his two most recent starts this season, Burke has given up 5 & 6 hits, and 5 total earned runs.
Bazzana also gets a ‘Key Zone’ matchup worth bringing attention to.
Can he stay hot against Burke?
This one isn’t an analysis, but a sheet. WallaBets posts this great hot-hitter cheat sheet every day, highlighting players just like Ruiz and Bazzana.
