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 evening.
Sleeper hitters for Week 21 (Aug. 12-18)
This recommendation is less about the matchups (though a three-game series against the Rockies pitching staff is pretty nice, even away from Coors Field) than Josh Bell just being blazing hot right now, having homered 10 times in his past 21 games.
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Gavin Lux is one of a handful of hitters identified by MLB.com analyst Mike Petriello whose actual swing has sped up in the second half, and lo, he's hit .383 (23 for 60) with three homers and seven doubles during that time. He seems like a reasonable choice, then, to take advantage of the Dodgers' fifth-best hitter matchups, especially since all six pitchers on tap are righties.
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Jeff McNeil is another normally light hitter whose bat speed has noticeably increased in the second half, and he's batting .324 (23 for 71) with five homers and seven doubles during that time. Skepticism is warranted, but with the Mets having the most favorable hitter matchups this week, might as well give him a whirl.
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The Red Sox aren't included among the five best hitter matchups, but they didn't miss by much, with pitchers like Tyler Mahle, Jose Urena, Cody Bradford, Albert Suarez, and Trevor Rogers on the schedule. Wilyer Abreu has slowed down in recent days, but he's still batting .309 (21 or 68) with six homers in his past 24 games and should at least start against the five right-handers.
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Masataka Yoshida doesn't offer as much power as Abreu, but he's back to being a multi-hit machine after shaking off the rust from an early ankle injury and is the better bet of the two to stay in the lineup against lefties.
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Michael Busch still undercuts his Fantasy appeal with a bloated strikeout rate, but he's tapped into his power more consistently over the past couple months and should feast on a slate full of righties this week, with the toughest being Chris Bassitt (which isn't really saying much).
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TJ Friedl's power stroke mostly just plays at home, where he's a career .289 hitter with an .866 OPS compared to .236 and .710 on the road. He seems to have found that power stroke over the past week, even with the Reds being on the road, which is good timing with them lined up for a full week of home games.
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Whenever I recommend J.D. Martinez here, it doesn't seem to work out, but with the Mets having the best hitter matchups this week, going against the hapless Athletics and Marlins pitching staffs, I don't see how I shy away. He still impacts the ball hard enough that a multi-homer week is a reasonable expectation.
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Nate Lowe is a decent power hitter with the good fortune of facing a bunch of homer-prone pitchers this week, including Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, David Festa, and to some degree, Pablo Lopez.
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Jesse Winker hasn't played as much since coming over from the Nationals, so this may be the last ride for the longtime Sleeper Hitters fixture. But if there was ever an occasion for a swan song, it's a schedule full of mashable righties -- specifically, Ross Stripling, Mitch Spence, Joey Estes, Edward Cabrera, Roddy Munoz, and Max Meyer.
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Best hitter matchups for Week 21
1. Mets OAK3, MIA3
2. Phillies MIA2, WAS4
3. Padres PIT3, @COL3
4. Yankees @CHW3, @DET3
5. Dodgers @MIL4, @STL3
Worst hitter matchups for Week 21
1. Pirates @SD3, SEA3
2. White Sox NYY3, @HOU3
3. Rays HOU3, ARI3
4. Athletics @NYM3, SF2
5. Tigers SEA3, NYY3
