Sleeper hitters for Week 21 (Aug. 11-17)
Ivan Herrera's roster rate continues to lag even though he's a catcher-eligible player getting everyday at-bats elsewhere -- and a monster hitter to boot. That's especially true against left-handers, of which there are three on this week's schedule. He has a 1.280 OPS vs. lefties, with seven of his 10 home runs coming against them.
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Ezequiel Tovar has been hurt for much of this year, but he's been healthy while Coors Field has been at its hitter-friendly friendliest, which might explain why he has a near-1.100 OPS at home. Might as well take advantage with the Rockies having four games to beat up on a bad Diamondbacks pitching staff there this week.
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The Brewers matchups this week aren't the best, but they aren't prohibitive if you've finally worked up the nerve to use Andrew Vaughn. While he never lived up to his potential with the White Sox, the former No. 3 overall pick is slashing .348/.412/.629 with the Brewers, homering seven times in 25 games.
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Jordan Beck has been a good play whenever the Rockies have favorable matchups, mostly because he's batting .321 with an .877 OPS at their hitter-friendly home. They're only there for four of their seven games this week, but the other three are against mashables in the Cardinals rotation -- i.e., Miles Mikolas, Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy.
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After missing three-plus months with a fractured forearm, Luke Keaschall has come back looking just as promising as he did before it, profiling as a high on-base base-stealer with a little bit of pop. With the Twins being one of just six teams playing seven games this week -- and having pretty good matchups, too, particularly in the Tigers series -- now's a good time to give him a try.
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Mickey Moniak might be the quietest breakout player of this season, batting .311 (46 for 148) with 12 homers in 43 games since the start of June, and as you might expect, he's especially productive at Coors Field, where the Rockies are scheduled to play four of their seven games this week. He may sit against the two left-handers on the schedule, but if he's your best chance to take advantage of this week's most hitter-friendly slate, I say go for it.
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Summer in Coors Field has yielded an offensive explosion -- just ask the Blue Jays and Pirates, who recently passed through. This week's beneficiary is the Diamondbacks, who will visit for four games. Among their hitters who you could potentially stream off the waiver wire, Lourdes Gurriel makes for the best choice given his high contact rate and decent pop, not to mention his track record.
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Warming Bernabel has skipped the warming and gone right to the burning in the majors, going 19 for 57 (.333) with three homers, six doubles and a triple in his first 14 games. The exit velocities leave much to be desired, as was true in the minors as well, but his high contact and pull-air rates may be enough for him to succeed in such a favorable environment. He has the right matchups this week, for sure.
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Matt Wallner is currently on paternity leave and may also miss Monday's game for it, but because the Twins are one of just six teams scheduled for seven games, a one-game absence isn't a deal breaker. A lefty-loaded schedule would be more of an issue for the left-handed slugger, but having just one lefty on the schedule, as the Twins do, furthers Wallner's chance of continuing the power the binge that's seen him homer five times in his past 11 games.
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The Tigers have the third-best hitter matchups this week, being one of just six teams scheduled for seven games, and of greater import to Colt Keith is that all seven are against righties. The left-handed hitter is batting .280 with an .819 OPS vs. righties this year. He's been particularly productive, whether against righties and lefties, since the start of July, batting .298 (28 for 94) in 31 games.
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