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 22 (Aug. 19-25)
Kerry Carpenter homered three times in his first two games back from an IL stint, reminding us all of what he brings to the table offensively, and there's likely more where that came from with the Tigers having the fourth-best hitter matchups this week. With only one lefty on the schedule, you can trust that he'll stay in the lineup.
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Brandon Lowe has been the fourth-best second baseman in Head-to-Head points leagues since the start of June, so it's kind of amazing he's still available enough to qualify for this list. Lowe's tendency to sit against tougher lefties perhaps undermines his appeal, but there's only one of those on the schedule this week with the righties including mashables like Joe Boyle, Mitch Spence, Joey Estes, Osvaldo Bido, and Gavin Stone.
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Yet another hitter whose availability and productivity are tied to the handedness of the opposing pitcher, Michael Busch doesn't have any of those concerns this week. There's only one lefty on the schedule, and the Cubs' matchups are the most favorable of all.
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Josh Bell went hitless over the weekend but is still batting .293 (27 for 88) with nine homers in his past 23 games. While the Diamondbacks didn't make the cut for the five best hitter matchups, they didn't miss by much, going against the Marlins' ramshackle rotation for three games before taking on a Red Sox staff that appears to be running out of gas.
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Jake McCarthy isn't as impactful as Josh Bell for Fantasy because he doesn't offer much in the way of power, but he's the hotter of the two right now, batting .429 (33 for 77) with three homers and five steals in his past 21 games. And naturally, he gets to take advantage of those same favorable matchups.
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Another good thing about the Diamondbacks' matchups this week is that they're all righties, which makes for a great time to start Joc Pederson. His strict platoon role limits his utility most weeks, but when the schedule lines up for you to take advantage, he's a .292 hitter with a .956 OPS against righties.
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Colt Keith was hot to end the first half but has cooled off since. The hope here is that the Tigers' matchups against pitchers like Javier Assad, Kyle Hendricks, Chris Flexen, Ky Bush, and Jonathan Cannon will be enough to get him going.
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I prefer not to recommend catchers in this space because you'd never dream of using one in a utility spot, but sometimes the specifics are just too good to pass up. Not only is Joey Bart one of the hottest hitters at the position right now, batting .356 (21 for 59) with six homers in his past 15 games, but he's also scheduled to face four lefties, against whom he has a .442 batting average and 1.256 OPS on the year.
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Daulton Varsho might seem like an obvious choice with the Blue Jays having the third-best hitter matchups this week, so why is he so far down the list? Well, six of the seven pitchers on tap throw right-handed, which you might think is a good thing for a left-handed hitter like him, but he's actually batting .186 against righties compared to .308 against lefties.
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Spencer Horwitz, on the other hand, is a left-handed hitter with conventional lefty/righty splits, which in some ways makes him an even better bet to take advantage of the Blue Jays' favorable matchups. But the potential impact is of course lower for a bat-control/on-base guy than for someone with Daulton Varsho's power and speed.
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Best hitter matchups for Week 22
1. Cubs DET3, @MIA3
2. Yankees CLE3, COL3
3. Blue Jays CIN3, LAA4
4. Tigers @CHC3, @CHW3
5. Brewers @STL3, @OAK3
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Worst hitter matchups for Week 22
1. Dodgers SEA3, TB3
2. Phillies @ATL3, @KC3
3. Red Sox @HOU3, ARI3
4. Mets BAL3, @SD4
5. Marlins ARI3, CHC3