Wow, this is awful.
Granted, you can't expect there to be a great selection of sleeper hitters every single week, but I think we've hit rock bottom this week, which is crazy with the Rockies playing a full six games at home. But, well, here we are.
It's times like these when I like to remind everybody that sleeper hitters should never be your go-to when you setting your lineup. You should have no shortage of trustworthy options at this point, and baseball isn't predictable enough in week-long stretches for you to shy away from them because of matchups.
But things happen. Injuries pop up. Interleague schedules distrupt established lineup patterns. (The last time the Indians played in an NL park, they sat Edwin Encarnacion both games, and they have three games at one this week -- eek!) Sometimes you need a lifeline.
But I'm telling you, these are some flimsy ones. That's what happens when you limit your selection to those owned in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues.
| 1 |
Gregory Polanco
Pittsburgh RF
|
| Gregory Polanco is right on the border of the 80 percent cutoff, but it's been a while since we've had reason to get excited about him. A three-game series at Coors Field is exactly that, especially since he's batting .406 (13 for 32) with two homers over his past nine games. | |
| 2 |
Matt Holliday
N.Y. Yankees DH
|
| Matt Holliday will have the weekend to prove he's completely past the viral infection that sidelined him for three weeks, and then he's back to being one of the most overlooked players in Fantasy, anchoring a lineup filled with some of the best young sluggers in the game. The Yankees have seven games against the patchwork Twins and Mariners rotations. | |
| 3 |
Yuli Gurriel
Houston 1B
|
| Yuli Gurriel entered the break as one of the hottest hitters in baseball, batting .370 (27 for 73) with four homers in his last 17 games, and his contact rate gives him a high floor from week to week. The ceiling is fairly low, but he should flirt with it against the Mariners and Orioles pitching staffs. | |
| 4 |
Josh Bell
Pittsburgh 1B
|
| You may have heard something about the Pirates playing a three-game series at Coors Field. They'll play four games against some of the worst the Brewers have to offer directly beforehand, and Josh Bell is exactly the kind of fringe bat you trust to take advantage of those matchups. He has an .876 OPS in 34 games since the start of July. | |
| 5 |
Alex Bregman
Houston 3B
|
| I mentioned Yuli Gurriel's favorable schedule, and it includes pitchers like Sam Gaviglio , Ubaldo Jimenez , Chris Tillman and a struggling Dylan Bundy . Alex Bregman may not be quite as hot as his partner across the diamond, but he's batting .391 (9 for 23) with seven doubles in his past six games. | |
| 6 |
Trey Mancini
Baltimore 1B
|
| The Orioles' matchups this week are only middle-of-the-road, but Trey Mancini is comfortable at Camden Yards, where they'll play all seven of their games, and has likely carved out a full-time role even with Chris Davis returning to the lineup, having hit .347 with a .938 OPS in his absence. | |
| 7 |
Aaron Altherr
Philadelphia RF
|
| Aaron Altherr was swinging a hot bat before the break, batting .313 (21 for 7) with three homers and a .939 OPS in 19 games, and the Phillies have some of the best matchups in baseball this week, facing pitchers like Tom Koehler, Chris O'Grady, Matt Garza and Brent Suter. | |
| 8 |
Josh Harrison
Pittsburgh 2B
|
| Knock, knock. Who's there? Coors. Coors who? 'Coors you're going to find a spot for Josh Harrison because the Pirates have a three-game set at Colorado and he's eligible at three different positions. | |
| 9 |
Manuel Margot
San Diego CF
|
| You know, there is another team visiting Coors Field this week. The Padres play three games there just like the Pirates, but then they travel to maybe the toughest hitting environment, San Francisco. Still, they'll face a couple of noodle arms in their four games there. Margot will have a better chance than usual to score a bunch of runs atop that lineup. | |
| 10 |
Gerardo Parra
Colorado LF
|
| Playing time is a concern for Gerardo Parra with Carlos Gonzalez back from the DL and Raimel Tapia still in the picture, but he was the preferred option of the three in his first three games back, starting against both lefties and righties. Of those owned in less than 80 percent of leagues, he's the Rockies hitter most likely to take advantage of the six home games. | |
Best hitter matchups for Week 16
1. Rockies SD3, PIT3
2. Pirates MIL4, @COL3
3. Padres @COL3, @SF4
4. Phillies @MIA3, MIL3
5. Yankees @MIN3, @SEA4
Worst hitter matchups for Week 16
1. White Sox LAD2, @KC3
2. Angels WAS2, BOS3
3. Cardinals @NYM4, @CHC3
4. Braves CHC3, @LAD4
5. Blue Jays @BOS4, @CLE3