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 no more 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 16 (July 8-14)
Jonathan India is right on the borderline roster-wise, but I wanted to stress the importance of starting a red-hot hitter like him with matchups as favorable as the Reds have this week. Not only do they face the pitiful Rockies and Marlins rotations, but they're at their own homer-friendly ballpark for all seven of them.
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Noelvi Marte hasn't necessarily hit the ground running in his return from a PED suspension, but his high-end exit velocity readings and willingness to steal bases are both encouraging. With that same beautiful schedule that Jonathan India has, this should be the week that Marte's bat comes to life.
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J.D. Martinez has sat out a couple games recently -- one for a sore ankle and one for a quick turnaround after a night game -- but don't let that dissuade you from using him with a seven-game schedule that includes bottom-feeders like Patrick Corbin, Tanner Gordon, Ryan Feltner and Cal Quantrill.
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You saw those pitchers J.D. Martinez is scheduled to face? Well, Mark Vientos gets to face them, too, and the burgeoning slugger has given you plenty of reasons to start him regardless of matchups, having hit .292 (19 for 65) with six homers in his past 16 games.
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None of the underlying data seemed too terribly off for Nate Lowe even as he struggled with just two home runs in his first 58 games back from an oblique strain. So perhaps not surprisingly, he's gotten back on track with four homers in his past 11 games, which is good timing with the Rangers drawing pitchers like Davis Daniel, Roansy Contreras, Griffin Canning, and Spencer Arrighetti this week.
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The Pirates' schedule is pretty favorable as it is given that the Brewers and White Sox rotations aren't particularly deep, but when you consider that six of their seven games are on the road, where Nick Gonzales is batting .316 with an .838 OPS compared to .220 and .601 at home, well, you should feel good about starting him.
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I already mentioned the favorable matchups for the Rangers this week (see Nathaniel Lowe), which makes it a good time to get the undervalued Josh Smith in your lineup as well. I'll also point out that all six of the pitchers on tap are righties, which hasn't so much mattered for Smith, looking at the splits, but he does bat left-handed.
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Jesse Winker has been sitting more often against lefties recently but still coming off the bench to make a big impact in those games. I like him to take advantage of the second-best hitter matchups this week even with three lefties on the schedule.
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Michael Busch still strikes out too much for my liking, but a week with nothing but righties on the schedule seems like the right time to start him, particularly since he's batting .318 (27 for 85) with three homers in his past 26 games. Better yet, all seven of the games are on the road, where he's batting 33 points higher with an OPS 118 points higher than at home.
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Brandon Marsh has a pretty attractive skill set but is hard to recommend because he generally sits against lefties. Fortunately, there isn't a single lefty on the schedule for the Phillies this week, allowing you to take advantage of his .291 batting average and .847 OPS against righties.
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Best hitter matchups for Week 16
1. Reds COL4, MIA3
2. Nationals STL1, @NYM3, @MIL3
3. Mariners @SD2, @LAA4
4. Cubs @BAL3, @STL4
5. Astros MIA3, TEX3
Worst hitter matchups for Week 16
1. Padres SEA2, ATL3
2. Dodgers @PHI3, @DET3
3. Athletics @BOS3, @PHI3
4. Royals @STL2, @BOS3
5. White Sox MIN3, PIT3
