Cole Young's Bat Is Waking Up — And the Strikeout Rate Just Hit Zero
Cole Young posted a 0.0% strikeout rate over his last 11 plate appearances, down from 16.7% over 30 days, while hitting .273 with a home run and a stolen base in his most recent 7-day window. For a 22-year-old second baseman rostered in just 11% of leagues, that's the kind of signal that demands attention.
What Changed in the Rolling Windows
The trend lines across Young's rolling splits tell a clear story of a hitter finding his timing. His 7-day wOBA sits at .342, a noticeable jump from the .305 he posted over 14 days. His 30-day wOBA of .352 suggests the rough two-week stretch in mid-July was the outlier, not the norm. That 14-day AVG of .188 — driven by the cold spell around July 11-17 — is already being corrected. His 2-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI outing on July 18th was exactly the kind of authoritative performance that caps a recovery.
Over 78 plate appearances in the last 30 days, Young has slugged 6 home runs with a stolen base. That power-speed combination at the middle infield position is rare at any ownership level, let alone at 11%.
The Statcast Data Is Real
This is where it gets interesting. Young's 7-day exit velocity spiked to 97.3 mph with a 50.0% hard-hit rate. Compare that to his 14-day marks of 88.4 mph EV and 16.7% hard-hit rate, or his 30-day figures of 85.5 mph and 21.7%. The quality of contact in his most recent games has been on a completely different level. He's not just putting the ball in play — he's barreling it.
A .342 wOBA backed by a 97.3 mph average exit velocity is not a fluke. The data is clear: when Young is making hard contact at this rate, his offensive production is legitimate.
WaiverScout Was Early on This
We first flagged Young as an "add now" back on March 22 when he was rostered in just 6.2% of leagues. The signal was there before most fantasy managers even had him on their radar. He's cycled through watch and deprioritize classifications since then — most recently flagged as deprioritize on July 14, right during that cold 14-day stretch. Now, with his contact quality surging and strikeouts vanishing, we're upgrading him back to watch status. The underlying skill set we identified in spring training hasn't gone away; it's reasserting itself.
A detailed spring training scouting breakdown on Reddit from earlier this year argued Young would exceed expectations in 2026. The power surge — 6 homers in 78 PA over 30 days — validates that thesis.
Ownership Window
At 11% rostered with a stable ownership velocity (just +-1% change over seven days), there's no rush to the wire yet. That's your window. If the hard-hit rate stays anywhere near 50% and the strikeout suppression holds, this ownership number won't sit in single digits for long. For context, if you're choosing between Young and similarly owned second basemen like Brice Turang or weighing him against established names like Brandon Lowe or Ozzie Albies, Young's power upside at this price point is the differentiator.
Verdict: Watch
Cole Young is a watch, not an add — yet. The 34 PA sample over five games gives us a solid foundation, and the exit velocity and hard-hit data support the production. But the 0% K-rate over 11 PA is almost certainly unsustainable, and we need to see whether the 97.3 mph EV holds as the sample grows. If his next 7-day window shows continued hard contact and a K-rate that stays well below his 30-day 16.7% mark, this becomes an add. Get him on your watchlist now. The numbers back it up.