Fantasy Baseball: Top 10 sleeper hitters for Week 22 predicts more good times ahead for Curtis Granderson and Rhys Hoskins

The Phillies have the most favorable matchups of any team in Fantasy Week 22 (Aug. 28-Sept. 3), which is good news for baseball's hottest hitter. Curtis Granderson and Byron Buxton deserve a long look, too, according to Scott White.

By Scott White

Aug 25, 2017 at 7:46 pm ET • 4 min read

We all know Coors Field is a great place for hitters, and a full week at Coors Field is normally enough to populate half this list.

But tough matchups are still tough matchups, regardless of where we find them, and it just so happens that some of the toughest matchups right now will be pitching at Coors Field.

So you won't find the Rockies among the five best hitter matchups for Fantasy Week 22 (Aug. 28-Sept. 3), not with Michael Fulmer, Justin Verlander, Patrick Corbin, Robbie Ray and Zack Godley coming to town.

You also won't find the Tigers or Diamondbacks even though each spends half the week at Colorado. The Tigers face the Indians the other half of the week while the Diamondbacks face the Dodgers -- the top pitching staffs in the AL and NL, respectively -- so it'll be feast or famine for their hitters.

But fortunately, identifying the sleeper hitters for the upcoming week has never been as straightforward as "who's in Denver?" You can survive without the Coors bump by targeting these 10, all owned in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues.

Top 10 sleeper hitters for Week 22

1	Rhys Hoskins Philadelphia Phillies LF
The Phillies wouldn't even need to have the best matchups this week for Rhys Hoskins to top this list. He's historically hot, having become just the third player to homer eight times in his first 15 games, and his 1-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio tells me he's more likely to go the way of Carlos Delgado than Trevor Story.
2	Curtis Granderson Los Angeles Dodgers CF
Speaking of hot, Curtis Granderson has been that for the Dodgers, homering three times in six games with his new team -- and it started well before then. Dating back to May 15 -- a span of 82 games -- he has 20 homers and a .998 OPS. Playing time might still be an issue against left-handers, but with only one of those on the schedule, it's not a concern this week.
3	Scooter Gennett Cincinnati Reds 2B
Scooter Gennett isn't as hot as he was in June and July, but he never exactly cooled off either, batting .277 with four homers and a .910 OPS in his last 13 games. He more or less plays every day now, and the six right-handers on tap ensure that'll be the case this week. For the year, he's batting .308 with a .946 OPS against righties.
4	Ryon Healy Oakland Athletics DH
Ryon Healy , meanwhile, is a lefty-masher, batting .347 with a .989 OPS against them this season, and the Athletics just so happen to have three -- Andrew Heaney , Andrew Albers and Marco Gonzales -- on the schedule. The righties they're facing -- Troy Scribner , Parker Bridwell and Yovani Gallardo -- shouldn't be too daunting either for a player batting .386 (17 for 44) with two homers over his last 11 games.
5	Trey Mancini Baltimore Orioles LF
One of these weeks, I'll leave Trey Mancini off this list, but in spite of a slow August, his overall numbers are still too inviting for a player owned in just 63 percent of CBS Sports leagues. He does have four homers in his last 13 games, too, so I expect him to take full advantage of his seven games against the Mariners and Blue Jays pitching staffs.
6	Eddie Rosario Minnesota Twins LF
Eddie Rosario was one of the hottest pickups over the past week but has cooled off in recent days. He's still batting .333 (74 for 222) with 13 homers and a .976 OPS in his last 62 games, though, having added power to what was already a good contact profile at age 25. The Twins open the week against James Shields , Derek Holland , Miguel Gonzalez and Jason Hammel , so I trust he'll do fine.
7	Ketel Marte Arizona Diamondbacks SS
Here's a player I'm trusting to make the most of his time at Coors Field this week, though naturally, the standard for a sleeper is much lower at shortstop. It helps that Ketel Marte's other series is at home, where he's batting .286 so far. He's also batting .281 with an .878 OPS against lefties, so the three on tap should work to his advantage. At only 14 percent ownership, he's the most attainable of this week's sleepers.
8	Gerardo Parra Colorado Rockies LF
I've at least managed to slip one Rockies hitter in here. No, I don't love the matchups, but I don't think all five of the more competent pitchers Gerardo Parra is facing will be able to shut down the 30-year-old in the place where he's batting .397. And even if they do, there's still that matchup against Jordan Zimmermann .
9	Byron Buxton Minnesota Twins CF
Byron Buxton has faked us out a few times in the past, but considering his .289 batting average (25 for 84), five home runs, six stolen bases and .889 OPS this month also comes with a more palatable strikeout rate, it may well be the start of something more sustainable. If nothing slse, he's worth a short-term look in a week he'll face the White Sox and Royals pitching staffs.
10	Nick Williams Philadelphia Phillies RF
Nick Williams has given the Phillies a steady bat in the middle of their lineup since his arrival in late June, ranking 34th among outfielders in Head-to-Head leagues during that time. So naturally, he's a player you should look to when the Phillies have the kind of matchups they do this week, squaring off against Lucas Sims , R.A. Dickey, Julio Teheran and Justin Nicolino .