Sleeper hitters for Week 21 (Aug. 10-16)
Ezequiel Duran has continued to produce in a utility role for the Rangers, most recently filling in for Josh Jung at third base, and is batting .304 with seven home runs, four stolen bases in his past 34 games. He's a good bet to keep it going, with the Rangers having the top-ranked hitter schedule this week.
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A.J. Ewing has been cold to begin August, taking a little bit of the wind out of his sails in Fantasy, but the Mets' matchups this week are the kind that could quickly get the power/speed threat on track. The toughest pitcher they're facing in a six-game slate against the Braves and Nationals is probably Bryce Elder.
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Andrew Vaughn has been playing more regularly recently with Jake Bauers banged up, and he remains particularly formidable against left-handed pitchers, batting .373 with a 1.138 OPS. He's scheduled to face four of those this week.
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You're probably tired of reading about Bryce Eldridge here, for as consistently as he's fallen short of expectations, but the Giants' matchups this week are so favorable that I'd be acting irrationally if I didn't tout him once more. He impacts the ball like an elite slugger and has pitchers like Hayden Wesneski, Ronel Blanco, Michael Lorenzen and Gabriel Hughes on the schedule.
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Jung Hoo Lee has been one of the few Giants hitters who have actually been pulling their weight, batting .341 (14 for 41) with three homers and two steals in his past 10 games. It sets him up well for the third-best hitter schedule this week.
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Jake Burger has been characteristically inconsistent this season, but the home run and RBI production has been strong, putting him on pace for 26 of the former and 92 of the latter. You should bet on his best version showing up in a week when the Rangers have the most favorable hitter schedule, particularly with all seven of their games being on the road (where Burger's OPS is 100 points higher) at homer-happy parks.
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Though his exit velocity readings remain pretty sad, Nolan Arenado has been hitting for decent power recently, batting .252 with eight home runs and an .873 OPS in his past 31 games. He's going against a number of mashable pitchers this week, too, including Gabriel Hughes, Tomoyuki Sugano, Ryan Feltner and Grant Holmes.
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Griffin Conine may not make enough contact overall, but he's fully capable of putting a charge in the ball and is batting .284 with seven homers and a .932 OPS in his past 25 games. He plays almost exclusively against righties, but that's fortunately all the Marlins have on the schedule this week.
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Once a Fantasy standout, Lawrence Butler is showing signs that he may be coming around finally, slashing .292/.364/.542 with two home runs and a stolen base in his past 16 games. Only one of the pitchers he's facing this week throws left-handed, and all six of his games are at home, where Butler's OPS is nearly 200 points better than on the road.
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Jonah Heim has been a quality contributor for the Athletics since joining them in May and has taken on a predominant role following the injury to Shea Langeliers. His numbers are significantly better at the Athletics' hitter-friendly home, where they play all six of their games this week, and some of the matchups include vulnerable pitchers like Freddy Peralta, Kumar Rocker, Cal Quantrill and Cody Bradford.
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