Some Hitters I’m Worried About – May 23, 2026
Jakob Marsee, OF, Miami Marlins
Marsee went 0-3 with 1 K on one hard hit ball. Marsee posted a .841 OPS in 234 PA’s last year, so many pegged the youngster as a breakout candidate in 2026. Unfortunately, the breakout is far from happening. Marsee’s .242/.365/.403 slash line in May is pedestrian, but his April was much worse. I don’t love what I’m seeing to be quite honest. Marsee is striking out at 24%, which is super high for someone with a 91% zone contact rate. His super low 39% swing rate puts him in a weird spot, where he’ll make more poor contact if he swings more, but I need him to swing more to avoid punching out. He might be getting atypical results with 2-strikes, but on the surface it’s odd. Marsee’s impact is doing no favors. A .308 xwOBACON is fairly poor and a .207 xBA all but solidifies my opinion. I’m not in on this player.
Mookie Betts, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers
Betts went 0-3 with BB, K on no hard hit balls. I’m very mixed on what I’ve seen from Betts so far. He’s coming off a down 2025, where he posted his lowest xwOBACON and HH rate of his career. His diminished stolen base ability is also relevant. Right now through 70 PA’s, Mookie is slashing .188/.257/.406. He also has no stolen bases. On the bright side, his underlying stats are through the roof. Of course, there is a small sample size asterisk, but it’s fun to see either way. His 12.7% barrel rate, 92 EV, and .383 xwOBACON would be the best of his last three seasons. His 45% LASS is what I really hope he keeps up. It’s been a death by a thousand cuts with Mookie. The bat speed and sprint speed have slowly diminished over time. It looks like there is still a good underlying hitter, but the original name-brand he carried in fantasy has a price associated with it that I won’t pay.
Travis Bazzana, 2B, Cleveland Guardians
The rook went 0-4 with 3 K’s in a non-typical day for the contact warrior. Bazzana’s (15/14) K/BB ratio makes him super relevant in point leagues, especially at the desolate 2B position. His propensity to walk and strong sprint speed make him a real SB threat. He has 7 in 22 games so far, so the full season pace on that is really exciting. However, Bazzana’s present walk rate would represent the best in his affiliate ball career, so I wonder if it regresses up. He hit 9 homers in 84 games in the minors in 2025, and we’re not seeing great power in his small MLB sample. A 33.3% HH rate from 69 bat speed is not super enticing. I’m not paying for Bazzana since I’m not sure what kind of power we’ll see, I think he’s overperforming in terms of BB rate, he’s never been a major SB threat in the minors, and he bats 5th for Cleveland. If you’re desperate for an answer, he’s at least not a liability.
Kazuma Okamoto, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
Okamoto went 0-4 with a golden sombrero! The newcomer is now slashing .213/.296//404. Unfortunately for Okamoto, when I look at his profile, I see lots of “not enough”. He’s striking out at 31% and whiffing 33%. These are Nick Kurtz contact rates, but the impact isn’t Nick Kurtz level. Okamoto’s 52nd Percentile LASS and K rate combine for a brutal .230 xBA. His 74 bat speed is strong, but again, not elite. A 112 Max EV and 14% Barrel rate are strong, but not enough for an almost 3TO player. I don’t think the AVG turns around enough for him to not hurt you in leagues where AVG matters.
Manny Machado, 3B, San Diego Padres
Machado went 1-4 with R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K on two hard hit balls. Machado has posted a xwOBACON over .370 every year of his career except this one. His Barrel rate (6%), max EV, LA, LASS, xBA, K%, and xSGL are all career worsts, some by a hefty margin. This is easily Machado’s worst season of his career. I’m an ageist in fantasy sports, and while good baseball players tend to last long, he’s still 33. His bat speed is significantly down from when they started measuring it in 2023. My concern is real.
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