Whether you're in need of an injury fill-in or just a hot-hand play, Scott White has you covered with 10 sleeper hitters for the upcoming scoring period, all rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues. They're not must-starts by any estimation, but they're the best you'll find off the waiver wire.
All information is up to date as of Sunday afternoon.
Sleeper hitters for Week 11 (June 3-9)
The Rockies begin Week 11 with three games at home, where Brenton Doyle is batting .330 with a .924 OPS, and will conclude it against the back of the Cardinals rotation, which features such stalwarts as Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Andre Pallante. He's cut down on his strikeouts enough this year to make good on his power and speed potential.
| |||
If you haven't looked in on Jake Meyers' Statcast page in a while, you're in for a scarlet red surprise. He's lived up to his .296 xBA and .500 xSLG since claiming a regular spot in the lineup and should continue to live up to it with the Astros boasting the most favorable hitter matchups this week.
| |||
With four home runs in his past eight games, Ian Happ is showing signs of coming around at the plate, and this week may be enough to clinch it. It opens with two games against the White Sox's not-so-illustrious duo of Chris Flexen and Erick Fedde and concludes with four games at Great American Ball Park, where Happ has hit 17 home runs in just 49 career games.
| |||
TJ Friedl has made a quick return from a fractured thumb to reclaim his place atop the Reds lineup, and the timing couldn't be better with a trip to Coors Field coming up. The Reds then close out the week with four games at home, where Friedl hit two-thirds of his home runs last year.
| |||
Davis Schneider has made good on his sleeper potential in Week 10, which should give you confidence to stick with him in Week 11. Things could start out bumpy against the Orioles pitching staff, but then come the Athletics to close out what's one of the few seven-game schedules this week.
| |||
The first of several Cardinals hitters worth considering with the team having the fourth-best hitter matchups, Nolan Gorman tends to hit his home runs in bunches and may be at the start of such a power binge with six homers in his past 17 games.
| |||
Matt Vierling is playing close to every day with Kerry Carpenter sidelined by a back injury and is thriving with a greatly reduced ground-ball rate this year, having gone 14 for 32 (.438) with four homers in his past seven games. The Tigers' matchups are pretty good, featuring pitchers such as Dane Dunning, Jose Urena, Robert Gasser and Bryse Wilson.
| |||
I've mentioned that the Cardinals have the fourth-best hitter matchups this week. I haven't mentioned that five of the seven pitchers on tap are righties. That works to the benefit of Masyn Winn, who's batting .324 against right-handers this year even though he's a right-handed hitter. He also went into Sunday night's game batting .361 (22 for 61) in his past 17.
| |||
Like Winn, Alec Burleson thrives against right-handers, batting .310, but it's a little more understandable given that he's a left-handed hitter. Lately, he's been in the lineup regardless of whether a righty or lefty is on the mound.
| |||
Jonathan India has had a rough season but has shown some signs of life lately, batting .346 (9 for 26) over his past nine games. The Reds have the fifth-best hitter matchups this week, including a series at Coors Field, and are set to face three lefties, against whom India has hit a respectable .276.
|
Best hitter matchups for Week 11
1. Astros STL3, @LAA3
2. Rockies CIN3, @STL4
3. Padres @LAA3, ARI4
4. Cardinals @HOU3, COL4
5. Reds @COL3, CHC4
Worst hitter matchups for Week 11
1. Brewers @PHI3, @DET3
2. Rays @MIA2, BAL3
3. Athletics SEA3, TOR3
4. Yankees MIN3, LAD3
5. Dodgers @PIT3, @NYY3
