Jonathan Aranda DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman/designated hitter Jonathan Aranda will take a seat on Wednesday against the hosting Arizona Diamondbacks with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez getting the nod on the bump. With the left-handed-hitting Aranda on the bench to start, Curtis Mead will play first base for the Rays and hit fifth against Rodriguez, a pitcher he's never faced. This should just be a routine day of rest against a southpaw for the 26-year-old Aranda, who should be rostered in all fantasy formats after starting the year slashing an impressive .344/.442/.656 with a 1.09 OPS, four home runs, 13 RBI and 12 runs scored in his first 64 at-bats. The Mexican slugger is on an early-season tear, but he's gone just 1-for-10 with four walks and four K's against lefties. Mead has been cold, going 4-for-29 with no homers and one RBI in 2025.

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda and second baseman Brandon Lowe will both start on the bench against a left-hander on Wednesday against the division-rival Boston Red Sox. Curtis Mead will make the start at first base and will bat second, while Coco Montes is starting at second and hitting seventh against Red Sox left-hander Sean Newcomb. Aranda is hitting a strong .414 (19-for-46) on the year with three home runs, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored, but the Mexican slugger has yet to start in 2025 against a southpaw. Lowe has only made one start this year against a lefty, and like Aranda, he also has three home runs on the season in 61 at-bats. Mead has DFS upside as a deep sleeper in the two-hole on Wednesday, but he's gone just 4-for-22 in the early going for Tampa with an RBI and a run scored. Still, he's the better DFS sleeper option than Montes.

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to their division-rival Boston Red Sox. Aranda continues to mash, posting his third home run in the early going with a white-hot .413 average (19-for-46) and robust 1.242 OPS. The 26-year-old is just three homers off his 2024 total in fewer than half the at-bats it took him to do so while notching seven doubles, 11 RBI, and ten runs scored. His batted-ball metrics are off the charts thus far, with stark increases in average exit velocity (96.5 MPH) and hard-hit percentage (62.2%) while dropping his strikeout rate (18.5%) and raising his walk percentage (11.1%) from a season ago.