Some weeks, it's a stretch just to pick out 10 sleeper hitters.
Week 20 (Aug. 14-20) is not one of those weeks.
You can start with the entire Atlanta lineup. The Braves travel to Coors Field for four games, and so many of their hitters are so scarcely owned in Fantasy that they could legitimately take up half of this list.
And then there are the fringy hitters who just happen to be hot right now. Nicholas Castellanos crushes lefties and has three on the schedule this week. Kolten Wong and Jarrett Parker have surprised in August and face almost exclusively right-handers. Dexter Fowler. Hunter Pence. Brian Goodwin. Jose Pirela. This list could go to 25, probably.
But 10 is the cutoff, so I'm aiming for the best. Among those owned in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues, here's who I'm most inclined to start.
Top 10 sleeper hitters for Week 20
| 1 | 
Odubel Herrera
Philadelphia CF
|
| Second straight week at the top for Odubel Herrera, who has already responded with a home run, two stolen bases and two triples in Fantasy Week 19 (Aug. 7-13). He's up to a .339 batting average, nine home runs and .962 OPS in 227 at-bats since the start of June, and though he bats left-handed, the five lefties on tap for the Phillies this week shouldn't faze him given that he's batting .316 with an .893 OPS against southpaws this season. Good matchups, too. | |
| 2 | 
Melky Cabrera
Kansas City RF
|
| It's becoming more and more evident that Melky Cabrera enjoys himself in Kansas City, where he had his breakout season back in 2011. He has the luxury of batting between Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas, too, which helps get the most out of his high-contact, gap-hitting approach. He's the No. 9 outfielder in points leagues since joining the lineup July 31, and his matchups this week are hardly prohibitive. | |
| 3 | 
Gerardo Parra
Colorado LF
|
| Most Rockies hitters are the kind that you start every week, regardless of matchups, but Gerardo Parra is one for whom those matchups actually mean something. He's mostly a singles hitter who doesn't walk at all, so he needs to get really hot to make a worthwhile contribution in mixed leagues. But he already is, batting .403 with a 1.013 OPS in 24 games since returning from the DL July 7, and he's batting .413 with a 1.067 OPS at home this year. | |
| 4 | 
Trey Mancini
Baltimore LF
|
| Just when you thought Trey Mancini's high BABIP and low-fly ball rate might be starting to catch up to him, the rookie went 3 for 4 with a double and two homers Wednesday. Suddenly, he's batting .273 (9 for 33) with a .970 OPS in August and has yet to endure a real cold streak this year. Might as well take advantage of his matchups against Yovani Gallardo, Marco Gonzales, Ricky Nolasco and JC Ramirez. | |
| 5 | 
Rhys Hoskins
Philadelphia 1B
|
| Rhys Hoskins will have to play out of position for the Phillies, so when the rookie got the call Thursday, manager Pete Mackanin wouldn't commit to playing him every day. But the lefties on tap this week should work to the right-handed hitter's advantage, as should the matchups against Travis Wood, Clayton Richard, Matt Moore and Ty Blach. Hoskins hit .284 with 29 homers and a .966 OPS at Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year. | |
| 6 | 
Yangervis Solarte
San Diego 2B
|
| It's easy to forget just how well-rounded of a hitter Yangervis Solarte is when he disappears for a month with an oblique injury and is surrounded by sludge in San Diego when he returns, but the 30-year-old with triple eligibility in CBS Sports leagues is batting .393 (11 for 28) with two homers in his past seven games, striking out twice during that stretch. He'll get to face Jerad Eickhoff, Nick Pivetta, Edwin Jackson and A.J. Cole this week. | |
| 7 | 
Lucas Duda
Tampa Bay 1B
|
| Lucas Duda homered in three of his first four games with the Rays in late June and should be able to catch fire again with six righties on the schedule this week, especially since they're homer-prone types like Nick Tepesch, Marco Estrada, Erasmo Ramirez and Yovani Gallardo. Six of the seven pitchers on tap are righties, against whom Duda has a .919 OPS this year. | |
| 8 | 
Matt Adams
Atlanta 1B
|
| Speaking of crushing righties, Matt Adams has hit .301 with an .895 OPS against them this year and is in line to face seven this week. Plus, four will be at Coors Field. He's a defensive liability now that he's in left field, but Atlanta seems committed to starting him there for now. There may not be a Braves hitter better equipped to take advantage of the thin air. | |
| 9 | 
Shin-Soo Choo
Texas RF
|
| Shin-Soo Choo has been a little overlooked in Fantasy, and the Rangers have some of the most favorable matchups this week, facing the White Sox rotation for four games, not to mention Drew VerHagen and Anibal Sanchez in the Tigers series. He's a .286 hitter with an .825 OPS at home, too, where all seven of those games will take place. | |
| 10 | 
Alex Avila
Chi. Cubs C
|
| Let's get a catcher in there, shall we? Alex Avila takes over as the Cubs' primary option with Willson Contreras sidelined 4-6 weeks with a strained hamstring, and the timing couldn't be any more perfect for him. The Cubs play seven games, including six against righties like Asher Wojciechowski, Homer Bailey, Tim Adleman and Nick Tepesch, and while the left-handed hitting Avila has offered little at the plate since June, he would still have the ninth-highest line-drive rate and the top hard-contact rate (according to FanGraphs) if he had the at-bats to qualify. | |
Best hitter matchups for Week 20
1. Rockies ATL4, MIL3
2. Braves @COL4, CIN3
3. Rangers DET3, CHW4
4. Rays @TOR4, SEA3
5. Indians @BOS1, @MIN3, @KC3
Worst hitter matchups for Week 20
1. Twins CLE3, ARI3
2. Blue Jays TB4, @CHC3
3. Diamondbacks HOU2, @HOU2, @MIN3
4. Athletics KC3, @HOU3
5. Red Sox CLE1, STL2, NYY3
