Jonathan Aranda DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda continued his breakout campaign on Monday in the club's 7-2 win against the Minnesota Twins. Aranda slugged a three-run homer and picked up a single during a 2-for-4 night. His 356-foot HR against Twins right-hander Brock Stewart broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth, and the Rays never looked back on their way to a sixth straight win. Aranda's latest contributions upped his season line to an outstanding .302/.381/.491 with seven HRs and 28 RBI over 181 plate appearances. The lefty-swinging 27-year-old has done almost all of his damage against righties, but he'll face a difficult test Tuesday with Twins RHP Joe Ryan (2.68 ERA) on the mound.

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda reached base five times on Sunday, going 3-for-4 with two walks in six plate appearances during the 7-5 victory over the Yankees. The 26-year-old hit his fifth home run of the season in the contest and collected three RBI. After a week-and-a-half lull where he went 4-for-27 (.148) in nine games, Aranda has gone 5-for-11 (.455) over his past three, now slashing .316/.414/.561 with a .423 wOBA and 183 wRC+ in what is looking like a true breakout season. The left-handed hitter's average exit velocity and hard-hit rates rank 97th-percentile or better thus far, and together with a 14.9 percent barrel rate, fantasy managers should expect the extra-base hits to keep on coming. While he doesn't get much play versus lefties, Aranda is eligible at both 1B and 2B on Yahoo!, and only rostered in 43 percent of leagues for those looking for some production at one of those positions.

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman/designated hitter Jonathan Aranda and rookie outfielder Chandler Simpson will not start on Saturday in the Bronx against the New York Yankees and left-hander Ryan Yarbrough. Righty Clarke Schmidt (side) was originally scheduled to start for the Yanks, but he was scratched due to a side issue. Curtis Mead is now starting at first base and batting fifth, while Kameron Misner will start in center field and bat seventh. Jose Caballero is in right field and in the six-hole. Aranda is hitting over .300 so far in 2025 but has gone 2-for-14 with five strikeouts against left-handed pitching, so he'll take a seat. Simpson, who also bats from the left side, is hitting .318 (14-for-44) in his first 11 big-league games, but he hasn't homered while driving in three and stealing three bases. He's just 3-for-15 against lefties.