Fantasy Baseball: 20 fringe players to hold for the stretch run, offering playoff help in Head-to-Head leagues
These hitters and pitchers stand out most when guaging matchups for the rest of the season
By
Scott White
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1 min read
The playoffs have begun in a couple of my Head-to-head leagues. If they haven't in yours, they surely will in the next week or two.
Suffice it to say, then, the stakes are higher now, and in the interest of securing whatever edge you can, you may feel compelled to look ahead at some possible matchup plays rather than taking it week by week.
It's a bit of a fool's errand given the amount of pitcher churn we're sure to see over the next month and a half, but so long as you understand that and don't discard anything of real value to secure a big maybe, I'm happy to play along.
What I've done here is size up every team's remaining schedule and speculate which of their fringier Fantasy options could benefit most from it. It's no substitute for my weekly pitcher and hitter sleeper articles, which will be released every Friday as usual, but it could help you get a jump on your competition.
The starting point for this exercise is the next scoring period, the one that begins Monday, Aug. 25. From that point forward -- five scoring periods in all -- each team will play 10 series. The ones with the most series against "bad" pitching staffs and the ones with the most series against "bad" lineups are listed below, along with some players who you may want to stash in light of this information.
Obviously, I ignored those that are universally rostered in CBS Sports leagues. You're not on the fence about stashing them. The focus is more on those who you may not be totally sold on, even if you've picked them up already. The matchups say you should hold.
Remaining series against 'bad' pitching staffs:
- San Francisco Giants: 7
- Chicago Cubs: 6
- New York Yankees: 6
- San Diego Padres: 6
- Washington Nationals: 6
- Boston Red Sox: 5
- Houston Astros: 5
- Kansas City Royals: 5
- Los Angeles Dodgers: 5
- Milwaukee Brewers: 5
- Philadelphia Phillies: 5
- Pittsburgh Pirates: 5
- Texas Rangers: 5
Clutch hitters for the stretch run
There's an air of skepticism surrounding Ramon Laureano that's made people slow to buy into his .295 batting average and .908 OPS, but he was just as good down the stretch for the Braves last year. With the Padres having such favorable matchups coming up, including two series against the Rockies, it's time to cling tight.
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The former top prospect was already coming into his own with a second-half power binge that's supported by an improved average exit velocity and pull-air rate. That the Cubs have such favorable matchups ahead makes Matt Shaw even more of a clutch pickup.
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The Reds didn't make the list for having the most series against bad pitching staffs, but they just missed with four and are only facing one great staff the rest of the way. Mostly, though, I think Noelvi Marte is a burgeoning stud whose five-category potential is now on full display.
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Jurickson Profar has been a worthy choice to push Ronald Acuna out of the leadoff spot, leading the majors in walks since the All-Star break and, with his recent power binge, now averaging more Head-to-Head points per game than Fernando Tatis. His low exit velocities give me pause, but he's angling the ball properly for maximum damage.
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Since coming over to the Brewers in early July, Andrew Vaughn is slashing .325/.391/.598, finally living up to the potential that made him the third overall pick in the 2019 draft. The clutch matchups only improve his odds of sustaining it.
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Manager Aaron Boone has made Ben Rice a priority in the Yankees lineup again, starting him in 11 straight games, and while his surface-level numbers are solid enough, he's been one of the biggest underachievers by the data this year, batting more than 50 points below his expected mark. The matchups should help him close that gap.
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Serving as their leadoff hitter against right-handed pitchers, Sal Frelick was a central part of the Brewers' recent 14-game winning streak with Steven Kwan-like production that hasn't been fully appreciated yet. His 2.94 Head-to-Head points per game are more than Mookie Betts, Riley Greene, or Tyler Soderstrom.
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A surprise breakthrough for the Brewers this year, Isaac Collins combines plus on-base skills with serviceable power and speed. He and Corbin Carroll have the same Head-to-Head point-per-game average (3.39) since Collins became a regular on June 12.
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Trent Grisham has his power stroke working again and is back to playing most every day for the Yankees, which is good timing with them having such favorable matchups down the stretch, including two series against the White Sox pitching staff and two against the Orioles pitching staff.
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The second overall pick just two years ago, Dylan Crews has yet to fulfill his potential in the majors and was forgotten in Fantasy during a two-month absence for an oblique injury. He offers sneaky breakout potential down the stretch with the Nationals having one of the most favorable remaining hitter schedules.
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Remaining series against 'bad' lineups:
- Los Angeles Angels: 7
- Colorado Rockies: 6
- Minnesota Twins: 6
- Seattle Mariners: 6
- Arizona Diamondbacks: 5
- Athletics: 5
- Houston Astros: 5
- Kansas City Royals: 5
- Texas Rangers: 5
Clutch pitchers for the stretch run
Kyle Bradish had a 2.81 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 9.6 K/9 in 38 starts between 2023 and 2024 and just struck out nine in his second-to-last start rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery. Even without the somewhat favorable matchups for the Orioles pitching staff (four bad lineups in their final 10 series), he should be far more rostered than he is.
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The buy-in has been slow on Ryne Nelson, an unconventional pitcher whose success seems contingent on him throwing his fastball 60-70 percent of the time. He didn't do that in his last two turns, which may have scared some people away, but he had a 2.08 ERA in his previous 10.
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The league's best ground-ball pitcher sometimes beats himself with walks but generally goes six-plus with a good strikeout total when he's "on." That should be more often than not with the Angels having the best remaining pitching matchups, scheduled to face seven bad lineups in their final 10 series.
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Zebby Matthews throws strikes and misses bats at a high rate -- two traits that lend themselves to the best possible outcomes, especially with matchups as favorable as the Twins are looking at. He'll need to work deeper into games than he has so far to have the desired effect, though.
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Before you pull the plug on Jeffrey Springs after back-to-back ugly outings, take a look at the Athletics' remaining matchups, which include series against the Rangers, Angels, Pirates, Astros and Royals. Then remind yourself that he had a 3.30 ERA in his 18 outings prior to those ugly two.
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Jack Perkins has a 15.7 percent swinging-strike rate on the year, and that number has only gone up since he moved into the Athletics rotation three turns ago, allowing him to showcase four pitches that are capable of generating whiffs. He'll have the same favorable matchups as Springs.
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Though he hasn't gotten the desired results yet, Bailey Ober has looked better since returning from an IL stint for a hip issue that dated back to spring training, coming closer to matching last year's velocities. If he's truly back to form, which we should know soon enough, he'll have the matchups to make the most of it.
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Yu Darvish has been hit or miss since making his season debut July 7, but I think it's less a matter of diminished stuff than him struggling to find the right mix for his sprawling arsenal. He's had some success emphasizing his four-seamer lately, and if it leads to more consistency, he could be a quality-start machine down the stretch.
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It's making a lot out of a sample of one, but Cristian Javier's first start back from Tommy John surgery Aug. 11 saw him average 93.5 on his fastball. That's about where it was in 2021 and 2022, when he was a Fantasy standout. The results of his second start need to be thrown out because he was removed with an illness, but it's easy to remain hopeful when you look at the Astros' remaining schedule.
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Though Dean Kremer has been the model of mediocrity over his career, his splitter is a plus pitch, boasting a 40 percent whiff rate. He's leaned on it more in his past two turns, throwing it closer to 30 percent of the time than the usual 20 percent, and gotten big results, so the hope here is that he sticks with that approach for a schedule that includes the Giants, Padres, Pirates and White Sox lineups.
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