Fantasy Baseball: Top 10 sleeper hitters for Week 14 include Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty, but not Randal Grichuk

The Cardinals outfield should be in your sights in what's unfortunately a poor week for sleeper hitters, according to Scott White.

By Scott White

Jun 30, 2017 at 7:21 pm ET • 4 min read

I don't know about this week.

Truth be told, I don't know about any week, but especially this week, the matchups don't line up with the available bats in a way that gives me great confidence.

I'm just being honest, putting it out there in case you've come to depend on this list to stock half your lineup. It's more of a break-in-case-of-emergency situation this time around, which makes it a good time to lean on your tried-and-trues.

The Rockies do have seven games at home, though, which may impact some of those tried-and-trues. Unfortunately, most of the hitters who'll benefit don't quite meet the criteria for a sleeper, having to be owned in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues.

Top 10 sleeper hitters for Week 14

1	Trey Mancini Baltimore LF
Even Trey Mancini isn't exactly a safe choice with the Orioles playing three games at Milwaukee, where they won't have use of the DH spot, but given the way he has hit since Chris Davis went down, batting .400 with five home runs in 17 games, you have to think he'll be a priority for them. And with pitchers like Matt Garza, Hector Santiago, Adalberto Mejia and Kyle Gibson on tap, he should be for you as well.
2	Cameron Maybin L.A. Angels CF
Cameron Maybin has cooled a little over the past week, but don't you lose faith. He's one of the league's premier base-stealers now and still has room to improve his batting average given how little he strikes out. The matchups are hardly prohibitive either for the No. 10 outfielder in points leagues and the No. 7 in categories leagues since he moved to the leadoff spot May 16.
3	Tommy Pham St. Louis LF
Between Dexter Fowler's expected return from the DL this week and Randal Grichuk's recent power surge, Tommy Pham's full-time role is less than assured. That's one of the reasons he ranks "only" third on this list, the other being that he has suspiciously poor numbers at home. But those numbers should improve against some of the worst the Marlins and Mets have to offer, especially with Pham already batting .308 with three homers in his last 10 games.
4	Melky Cabrera Chi. White Sox LF
The White Sox are one of two teams that pay a visit to Coors Field this week, and Melky Cabrera is so steady in the heart of their lineup that you have to figure he'll be one of the biggest beneficiaries. As a high-contact hitter, his game is more geared toward points leagues, but his power of course will play up in that park. He's on a 16-homer pace as it is.
5	Shin-Soo Choo Texas RF
The Rangers face their share of hittable pitchers this week, but most importantly, they play all six of their games at home, where Shin-Soo Choo has hit .294 with an .877 OPS this year. He has been the 18th-best outfielder in points leagues and the 23rd-best in categories over his last 36 games.
6	Michael Taylor Washington CF
Michael Taylor's success to this point is largely BABIP-dependent, and his putrid plate discipline doesn't inspire much confidence long-term. But he's certainly hot right now, batting .364 with five home runs and five stolen bases in his past 15 games. He has also hit .355 with a 1.030 OPS at home, where the Nationals will be playing all seven of their games.
7	Stephen Piscotty St. Louis RF
Stephen Piscotty is beginning to show signs of life with a .930 OPS in his last 11 games and has the kind of matchups that should keep it going this week, squaring off against pitchers like Jeff Locke, Jose Urena, Edinson Volquez, Tom Koehler and Rafael Montero. The specter of Randal Grichuk looms over him, just like Tommy Pham, but the combination of matchups and recent performance makes Piscotty worth the roll of the dice.
8	Aaron Altherr Philadelphia LF
Aaron Altherr has begun to pick it up at the plate again, batting .318 over a 10-game hitting streak and homering five times in his last 21 games. He has done some of his best work against righties, too, and faces hittable ones like Chad Kuhl, Jhoulys Chacin and Luis Perdomo to close out the week.
9	Max Kepler Minnesota RF
Max Kepler hasn't had much to offer Fantasy owners over the past two weeks, but the time to start him is a week like this one, when the Twins face six right-handers in seven games. The 24-year-old is batting .276 with an .826 vs. righties, his overall numbers dragged down by some putrid splits against lefties, and his matchups against the Angels and Orioles rotations are particularly inviting.
10	Josh Bell Pittsburgh 1B
The Pirates have favorable matchups this week against pitchers like Jerad Eickhoff, Ben Lively, Jeremy Hellickson and Eddie Butler, and Josh Bell is catching them at the right time, having homered three times in his past eight games. It'll be hard to fit him in at first base, of course, but again, we're making the best of a bad week here.