Sleeper hitters for Week 9 (May 18-24)
A recent hot streak (8 for 20 with three homers and a steal in his past five games) has moved Daylen Lile into the top 20 outfielders for Head-to-Head points leagues, and while his profile may not be as Roto-friendly, a lot more outfielders are needed in that format. His mathcups are favorable enough, featuring two aces but also five back-end starters.
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J.J. Bleday is hot in a way that seems sustainable by the underlying stats, namely a 3 mph increase in average bat speed. His matchups are only middle of the road, but between spring training, Triple-A and the majors this year, he has yet to miss.
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A.J. Ewing has so far looked like the spark plug he was billed to be, already collecting a home run, a triple and a stolen base in his first three games. The Mets' week opens with four games against the Nationals pitching staff.
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Believe it or not, Nolan Arenado has been swinging a hot bat over the past month or so, showing he may still have a little something left in the tank with a .333 (29 for 87) batting average and six home runs in 27 games. I still wouldn't buy into him for the long haul, but with the Diamondbacks having the third-best hitter matchups this week, I say go for it.
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It may feel like Carlos Cortes has gone quiet for Fantasy, but he's still sporting a .343/.400/.556 slash line with the data to back it up. Not only do the Athletics have the second-best hitter matchups this week, but six of the opposing pitchers are right-handed, which should keep Cortes in the lineup.
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Mauricio Dubon's plus defense in both the infield and outfield has made him an integral part of the Braves lineup, and though he's being sustained in part by inflated run and especially RBI totals, he's likely to add bunches more of both this week with the Braves having the top-ranked hitter matchups.
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Jorge Soler remains a serviceable, if inconsistent, source of power for the Angels and seems like a reasonable choice to take advantage of their fifth-ranked hitter matchups this week. That's partly because Soler has felt most at home at their hitter-friendly home, which is where they're playing all seven of their games.
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Ryan Waldschmidt has performed modestly since his call-up, but he's playing every day and has the matchups this week to break out, particularly with a four-game series against the Rockies pitching staff.
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Ezequiel Duran has secured the everyday second base job for now (while qualifying at every position but pitcher and catcher) and enters the weekend batting .333 (15 for 45) with seven extra-base hits in his past 13 games. He'd rank higher here, particularly with an upcoming series at Coors Field, if not for the three lefties on the schedule. Though a right-handed hitter, he has historically performed better against righties.
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Mike Yastrzemski has begun to show faint signs of life recently, particularly with a big home run Tuesday, and doesn't rate out so differently than he did in San Francisco. He's due, in other words, and a favorable schedule with five righties on it might be enough to snap him back into place if you're desperate for outfield help.
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