Cal

Raleigh

Chris Paddack had baffled the Mariners through 6 1/3 scoreless innings until Raleigh jumped on a first-pitch curveball and crushed a 362-foot (106.9 mph EV) solo homer to right that gave the M’s a 1-0 lead. The 28-year-old slugger finished the afternoon 1-for-4 and is now slashing a terrific .264/.369/.637 with an MLB-leading 23 homers, 45 RBI and six stolen bases in what has been an MVP-caliber start to the season.

Raleigh took a pitch at his eyes and smashed it into the right-field bleachers to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 3-2 game in the fourth off Bailey Ober. That’s his 22nd homer of the season, and it ties him with Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead. He also walked to improve his slash to a ridiculous .264/.386/.630 with 44 RBI.

Raleigh’s first homer of the game was a three-run bomb that made him the first catcher in MLB history to have 20 homers before the end of May. His next blast was his 21st and gave Seattle a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth. He’s just one homer behind Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead with Ohtani also smacking two Friday night, and his OPS is now a ridiculous 1.004. There’s obviously some regression for Raleigh, but there’s every reason to believe he’ll remain the best fantasy backstop in the sport.

Raleigh followed Julio Rodríguez in the first inning, going back-to-back with home runs off Mitchell Parker. He later added a second solo homer in the fifth and his 19th of the season. The 28-year-old backstop is hitting .258/.372/.603 with 37 RBI and five steals across 231 plate appearances.

Big Dumper comes through in the clutch. Again. With the score tied at 3-3 after Julio Rodriguez blistered a run-scoring double, Raleigh bombed a homer to right off the normally dominant Bryan Abreu to give Seattle the lead and ultimately the win. That’s now 17 homers for the switch-hitting catcher, and he’s driven in 35 runs with an OPS of .966. If not for that one guy in New York, Raleigh might be the favorite for MVP of the American League.

Every time it looks like Raleigh might be slowing down a little, he does something like this. He had gone 1-for-12 with five strikeouts in his previous three games, but now his OPS is right back up to .954. He’s tied with Aaron Judge for third place in the majors with 16 homers, one behind Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.

Polanco gets the day off during Sunday’s showdown with slugger Cal Raleigh occupying the DH spot to get a break from handling the catching duties. The 31-year-old veteran has hit a bit of a skid recently at the plate, hitting just .217 (10-for-46) with three homers and nine RBI over his last 15 games.

If not for Aaron Judge, you could argue that Raleigh has been the MVP of the American League for the first third of the season. His homer was the 15th of the season, and it broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning. On top of that offensive prowess, he’s also as good as it gets behind the plate, and his fantasy value increases because the Mariners essentially refuse to let Raleigh have a day off. Raleigh is a star, and the 28-year-old should remain as good — if not better — as any backstop in baseball.

Raleigh extended the Seattle lead to 5-0 with his 14th homer of the season, and it came off Stephen Kolek. The 28-year-old also drew a walk, and he’s now the proud owner of a .942 OPS and 30 RBI. Big Dumper can hit, folks, and he should remain one of the best backstops in all eligible fantasy leagues for the remainder of 2025.

Raleigh drew within a homer of Aaron Judge for the MLB lead with his 13th homer of the season; a two-run shot off Tim Hill. He’s also driven in 27 runs, putting him on pace for his second straight 100-RBI campaign. Raleigh strikes out too much to ever hit for a high average, but this kind of power production is well worth the hit in that category.