Who’s Hot, Who’s Not #1 (4/5-11)
Apr 12, 2025 - Written by Kian Behravan
Photo Credit : @JustBB_Media - X
Welcome to the first edition of the weekly Who’s Hot, Who’s Not! Each week, I aim to pick two players that have done well and two that haven’t done so well. Usually, it’ll be a pitcher and hitter on both spectrums, and I’ll dive into the metrics on WHY they’ve been hot–or not.
Hitters:
Hot! Kyren Paris
Every year, there’s always that “one young guy.” Right now, that title belongs to Kyren Paris. Paris, looking to play his first full season, has been on a tear recently. This week, he slashed .350 / .435 / 1.000 in six games. Along with that, he’s mashed four home runs, driven in five, and accounted for 20 total bases across this stretch. Throughout the season, he’s already managed to put up over 1 point of WAR (1.4), leading the league. Over this week, he’s put up a 0.229 Win Probability Added (WPA), meaning that his production is winning ballgames.
From the BaseballSavant side, he leads the league in Batting Run Value with 11. The only problem is, however, how much he whiffs, he stays down in the third percentile in Whiff%, with a whopping 39.7%. If not fixed soon, it could lead to a decline that would lower his sweet-spot percentage even more (currently 20.8%). Now, it doesn’t seem concerning, as he’s still finding holes in the field. Half of his singles on the season fall short of the right fielder, with all three pitches falling low and outside. This means he does well waiting for pitches that break low and away from him, such as sweepers or sliders, and shoots them the other way for a single. When the ball is thrown higher in the zone, however, he turns on it and crushes it for a homer. For example, on April 6, pitcher Paul Sewald left a fastball middle-middle and Paris hammered it 434 feet for a home run.
This recent success is due to a change in his swing, as taught by Aaron Judge’s hitting coach. Fans, along with the team, hope to see this production out of Paris year-round.
Not… Tim Anderson
Tim Anderson is trying to get his career back on track, and so far it’s not going well for him. This week he only hit .211, going 3-19. The main problem is his tendency to chase pitches low and outside. If he can learn to see those pitches earlier, it would greatly impact his strikeout rate for the better. He has also swung and missed greatly on pitches right down the heart of the plate. There isn’t much to explain, as it’s not ideal for any hitter to do that.
No big adjustments should be made immediately. Instead, little adjustments at a time should be made for him to come back for longer, be a good hitter in the second half, and ultimately revive his career.
Pitchers:
Hot! Kyle Hendricks
Kyle Hendricks still being in the league after his disastrous 2024 season was not on anyone’s bingo card this year. Well, the 35-year-old veteran still has some gas left in his tank. On April 8, he went 5 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits, walking two, and striking out 4. He did a great job limiting hard-hit balls as only one was hit hard into fair territory. He also had his changeup working, as he generated 10 misses (called strikes + whiffs) on it, three for strikeouts. His last strikeout came on a high and inside sinker that moved to the likes of Greg Maddux’s sinker. His sinker was left in the middle of the zone most of the time, and he threw more balls than strikes. If he wants pitch efficiency, he must better locate his changeup to be in the lower third of the zone, so he can induce more ground balls. Hendricks is not a strikeout pitcher, as he averages below 90 MPH, but that doesn't mean he can’t be successful. His pitches move exceptionally well, and as long as he locates, he can have a strong 2025 campaign.
Not… Ben Joyce
On April 8, Ben Joyce threw a third of an inning, giving up 4 hits (1 HR), 3 runs, and blowing a save opportunity, his velocity dipped quite a bit during that appearance, and it turned out he had a right shoulder inflammation. He was put on the 15-day IL. With his high-intensity pitching, it wouldn’t be rare to see this type of thing happen multiple times this year and in the coming years. His lack of control is also an issue. It’ll always be present since he throws exceptionally hard, but there is still much room for improvement. Now, we wait until he comes back and see if he can locate better and get out of innings.
For the players that are doing hot, we hope to see them stay hot. For those who are not, we hope they can turn it around. See you next week!
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