Surprising First-Half Hitters & A Look at 'Best Speed'
Eno and DVR discuss Alek Manoah's return to the mound in the Florida Complex League before digging into some of the most surprising hitters from the first half of 2023, and considering the value of 'Best Speed' as a better snapshot of a player's quality of contact than average exit velocity.\n\nRundown\n0:56 Alek Manoah's Game Action Resumes in FCL\n5:51 Jonah Heim and Elias D\xedaz\n9:32 Josh Naylor: Will Supporting Cast Limit His ROS Value?\n14:43 Yandy D\xedaz: Groundball Rate Back to 2022 Levels\n20:32 Spencer Steer\n29:07 Targeting "Obvious Buy-Low" Players\n32:45 Luis Arraez\n34:54 Bryson Stott: Further Room for Improvement?\n41:20 Lane Thomas & Surprising Outfielders\n45:03 Esteury Ruiz: Will He Top ROS Stolen-Base Projections?\n53:46 Jake Fraley's Success in Cincinnati\n55:30 Jorge Soler: Buying K% Improvements?\n\nFollow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris\nFollow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper\ne-mail: ratesandbarrels@theathletic.com\n\nSubscribe to The Athletic at $1/month for the first year: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels\n\nSubscribe to the Rates & Barrels YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/RatesBarrels\n\nCheck out these offers from our ad partners....\n\nRight now, Nuts.com is offering new customers a free gift with purchase and free shipping on orders of $29 or more at Nuts.com/rates\n\n\nGo to zbiotics.com/rates to get 15% off your first order when you use RATES at checkout.\n\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices