Sleeper hitters for Week 20 (Aug. 4-10)
Kerry Carpenter is back after a month-long absence for a hamstring strain and seems to have picked up where he left off as a reliable left-handed power bat. His drawback is that he tends to sit against left-handers, but that shouldn't be an issue with only one on the schedule this week.
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The Marlins have the most favorable hitter matchups this week, in part because they're looking at a rare eight-game schedule thanks to a doubleheader. Xavier Edwards should be stealing more bases than he is, but when you consider that he's batting .322 (67 for 208) since the start of June, it's hard to complain too much.
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Anthony Volpe remains a frustrating player, but he's surging right now, having homered seven times in his past 15 games. His matchups this week include such stalwarts (sarcasm intended) as Patrick Corbin, Jack Leiter, Colton Gordon, and Jason Alexander.
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Marcell Ozuna seems to have reclaimed the majority of the at-bats at DH, which is bad news for the Braves catcher tandem. But with eight games on the schedule this week, Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy should each find their way into the lineup for five of them, which wouldn't be less than the average catcher plays. The schedule is righty-heavy, which could give Baldwin a slight playing time edge.
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Murphy has been even better than Baldwin over the past month-plus, hitting seven homers and an OPS near 1.000 in 27 games. Both would be must-start catchers if not for the playing time concern, which doesn't really exist in an eight-game week.
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The Brewers' matchups this week are middle of the road, but Andrew Vaughn really seems to have found his footing with his new team, batting .373 (25 for 67) with six homers in 19 games. His playing time seems to have stabilized, too, with him starting 14 of the team's past 15 games.
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How Austin Hays is still available in nearly half of CBS Sports leagues is beyond me. I can understand how multiple IL stints might have suppressed enthusiasm, but he's been back healthy for over a month now and is still delivering at the plate. The Reds are one of just four teams scheduled for more than six games this week.
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Noelvi Marte is settling into right field with the recent acquisition of Ke'Bryan Hayes and even got to hit second Thursday, going 3 for 6. He remains an impressive offensive talent and should benefit from a favorable seven-game schedule this week.
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Though he's coming off a July slump, Otto Lopez seems like another candidate to take advantage of the Marlins' eight-game schedule thanks to his well-rounded skill set. He's become one of the biggest underperformers by the data, too, boasting a .289 xBA and .479 xSLG.
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For all of the Mariners' lineup upgrades at the trade deadline, they were careful not to block Dominic Canzone, who has impressed with both his top-line numbers and his exit velocity readings (92.1 mph average and 115.9 mph max) since rejoining the big club in June. He sometimes sits against left-handers, but there isn't a single one of those on the schedule this week.
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