Sleeper hitters for Week 16 (July 6-12)
Matchups aside, Dansby Swanson has been the hottest hitter in baseball, homering eight times and driving in an astonishing 26 runs in his past 13 games. He probably shouldn't qualify for this list anymore, but he does.
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Luis Garcia is enjoying his own power surge, having homered 10 times over his past 15 games. Recommending him can be difficult since he tends to sit against left-handed pitchers, but there's only one of those on the schedule this week.
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Right about the time we noticed Bryce Eldridge was striking out less while hitting the ball as hard as advertised, his production took a dip, causing him to be dropped in enough leagues to qualify for this list again. His strikeout rate has only continued to improve during that time, though, making him a quality play with the second-best hitter matchups this week.
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The Rockies actually have some pretty good matchups this week, but only a few of their hitters are trustworthy on the road. Jake McCarthy is one, batting .292 with a .767 OPS away from Coors Field, and the three lefties on the schedule also shouldn't bother him, given his .386 batting average and .982 OPS against them.
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Heliot Ramos has looked good since coming back from a quadriceps injury, going 7 for 27 with two homers, a triple and a double. His second-ranked hitter slate includes matchups like Tanner Gordon, Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen and whoever the Rockies call up to take Tomoyuki Sugano's place.
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Lars Nootbaar has continued with his modest production even as he's stung the ball to the tune of a 93.0 mph average exit velocity. Among the Cardinals who might actually be available in your league, he seems like the best choice to take advantage of their rare eight-game schedule.
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A.J. Ewing has picked up the pace of late, batting .314 (11 for 35) with three homers and a steal over his past 11 games. He has some pretty favorable matchups this week, particularly early on, and is scheduled to face five right-handers, against which he's batting .281 with an .767 OPS.
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Another who's on here more for his hot hitting than his matchups, Esmerlyn Valdez has demonstrated massive power with four home runs, three doubles and a triple in his past 10 games. His swing-and-miss is likely to catch up to him eventually, but you should take advantage while he's seeing the ball well.
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The White Sox have some pretty good matchups upcoming, particularly their three games against the Athletics pitching staff to close out the week. What works most in Chase Meidroth's favor, though, are the four lefties on the schedule, against which he's batting .311 with an .834 OPS.
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There needs to be one Padres hitter who could take advantage of this week's top hitter slate, and Gavin Sheets seems like a solid choice. He generally sits against left-handers, but there isn't a single one of those on the schedule, and he's batting .323 (10 for 31) with two homers in his past 10 games.
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