This sort of turned into a hard look at bat-speed increases, alongside production. That's not a bad thing, though. We just have to see if these bat speeds keep up, or are simply the product of fresh bodies.
Lane Thomas' Bat Speed Is Up
Lane posted a 45th percentile bat speed last year. Following a fantastic 2025 Spring Training, we see Lane Thomas' bat speed has risen to an elite 86th percentile this season. I don't need to tell you how drastic of an increase that is. I know I'm being presumptive, but this seems like a pretty signficant development and could lead to a really, really good campaign for Lane - I'm talking 2023 numbers. Pick him up ASAP for a possible 30-30 campaign.
Sean Burke Was Solid, But Concerning Definitely showed he was worth a pickup based on the result, but I'm concerned about his fastball velocity being down an entire MPH from last season (95.3 to 94.1). He looked like more of a location guy, and a lot less like a K guy, which would limit a lot of his fantasy appeal. His .xBA in the outing was a cold .279 on top of that.
Jonah Heim Looks Nice A year after posting a respectable .755 OPS at a power deprived position, Heim's 2024 campaign was absolutely miserable. Him hitting to the tune of a paltry .603 OPS had lots of fantasy owners covered in snot and tears, as many expected a breakout and reached in drafts. The idea of a possible .800 OPS hitter in that nice Texas lineup had folks salivating. Now it's 2025 and Heim just had a two dinger game with a ton of hard hit balls. Swing and launch angle look solid, with seemingly effortless power. And he did this against Houck, not some scrub.
Buy Low On Devers He looks terrible, but he's still an elite hitter in his prime. Not much else to say here, just take advtanage of impulsive Devers owners. Polanco's Bat Speed Is Up, Alongside His Numbers Polanco's 2023 was solid and posted a .789 OPS and .255 BA, convincing the Mariners to trade for what they assumed was going to be a playoff contributing piece.. His 2024 campaign was miserable, leaving SEA fans feeling like they're truly cursed when aqcuiring talent; they get someone, then they suddenly suck. One thing to note about Polanco's 2023 to 2024 dip in performance is that it may coincide with a drop in bat speed - 30th percentile to 19th percentile. This usually stands to be one of the leading symptoms of aging, a true destroyer of production, and we could have assumed a 30-31 year old Polanco is simply declining. But after one 2025 game, we can already see his bat-speed is up to a 35th percentile mark, 5% higher than his solid 2023 mark. Keep an eye on a possibly resurgent Polanco who could replicate or surpass his 2023 numbers.
Speaking of bat speed, Ben Rice Looks Jacked
Reports out of Yankees camp were that Ben Rice hit the weight room hard as fuck and gained 20 lbs of solid, beefy muscle. You always hear stories like this, and they usually don't amount to much, but as a Yankees fan, I was following this pretty closely in the offseason. Yankees redditors just loving sharing homo-erotic pictures of our guys getting jacked, and Ben Rice was no exception.
But forget that for a second. Ben Rice's bat speed has increased from 40th percentile to an elite 77th percentile. This is actually kind of ridiculous for a guy who already excelled at making contact. Ben Rice is about to be a superstar, I think, but maybe I'm just a biased Yankees fan.
Lookin Interesting: Dane Myers, Geraldo Perdomo.