Five Quietly Hot Hitters – May 20, 2026
Michael Harris II, OF, Atlanta Braves
Harris went 2-5 with R, HR, 2 RBI, K on three hard hit balls. Harris went 20-20 last year, so he’s clearly not a true breakout, but we have never seen underlying offensive numbers like this from him before. Harris’ 56% HH, .475 xwOBACON, 94.5 EV, and 15% Barrel are all well above career highs. His 47.5% GB rate is a career low. I believe that Harris has made a significant swing change, as his whiff and chase rates are actually worse than his career average, and his zone contact is unchanged compared to last year. His K and BB rates are also aligned with career average. If the swing changes stick, we could see this continued version of Harris throughout 2026.
Otto Lopez, SS, Miami Marlins
Lopez went 3-4 with 2 R, 1BB on two hard hit balls. Lopez went 15-15 last year, but played in a bad offense, so was largely unused in many fantasy leagues. However, his 2026 is getting hard to ignore. Lopez’s 9% Barrel, 90 EV, .290 xBA, .384 xwOBACON are all career bests. Lopez has a poor Pull Air rate (11%), but has hit 4 homers thus far, so getting to double digits at least isn’t out of the question. His 28 mph sprint speed makes him a real threat on the basis. Lopez has thus quietly turned into a complete fantasy asset, displaying real 20-20 potential, but now has the quality of contact to hit for average and is on pace for 90 runs, making him an everyday SS in leagues if he isn’t already.
Jake Bauers, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers
Bauers went 2-5 with RBI, K on two hard hit balls. Bauers has largely been good enough to be a sustained part-timer in the in bigs, but his 2026 has started off really strong, and he’s now playing nearly everyday. The 30 year old is hitting 54.7% of balls hard with a 93 EV and .508 xSLG. Bauers’ power has not really been a secret, so the most intriguing thing about him in 2026 is his improved contact and discipline. His 23.9% whiff is a career best, as is his 18.8% chase. This is easily the best version of Bauers we have ever seen, and as a result, we might see more PA’s in a full season from him this year than any prior year. And while he traditionally has had split issues, he has a .867 OPS against RHP and .874 against LHP.
Riley Greene, OF, Detroit Tigers
Greene went 2-2 with 2 R, 1 BB on two hard hit balls. Greene has been on fire all of May, slashing .433/.507/.550. My goodness! Greene’s approach and contact have been inconsistent throughout this career. At times, he’s made tons of contact, and at other times, he’s made very little. Either way, on it’s surface, Greene is a well rounded hitter that demonstrates good quality of contact across the board, with a fair dose of general contact issues. He sits on a less extreme part of the contact/power spectrum, and the results have been better for him,. A .482 xwOBACON, 14% Barrel, 40% LASS, and 48% HH make him a lock in all lineups across fantasy.
Willson Contreras, 1B, Boston Red Sox
Contreras went 2-5 with 3 RBI, 1 K on one hard hit ball. Contreras doesn’t exactly play in the strongest lineup in the bigs, but he has independently been a great hitter this year. The 34 year old actually has a career high .497 xwOBACON, .529 xSLG, and 16.7% Barrel. The most important figure is his 23.6 Pull Air%, representing a career high by wide margin. He’s a nonrunner and I make no promises in the R/RBI department, but the underlying hitting and homerun skills are real.
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