Sleeper hitters for Week 24 (Sept. 1-7)
I could point out that the Padres have the fourth-best hitter matchups this week, including three games in Colorado, but given that Ramon Laureano has a .906 OPS on the year and a .968 OPS since joining the Padres, it seems immaterial. Start him now, and start him forever.
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Mark Vientos has fallen well short of expectations following his breakout 2024, but he's beginning to resemble a middle-of-the-order masher again, batting .357 (15 for 42) with six homers in his past 11 games. The Mets' matchups this week are nothing special, but the kind of impact he could make when he's hot like this makes him a priority play.
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By Statcast's estimate, Jo Adell should have a .277 batting average and .562 OPS on the year, and over his past 10 games, he's brought his actual numbers closer to those theoretical ones, batting .361 (13 for 36) with five homers. Here's betting it continues with the Angels having the second-best matchups this week.
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Would you believe that Jakob Marsee, a left-handed hitter, has even better numbers against left-handers than right-handers during his month-long assault on the league? Don't let the four lefties on the schedule for the Marlins this week deter you from using him.
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When Matt Wallner is on the right side of streaky, as he is now, he can deliver bunches of home runs in a short span of time. He enters the weekend with four home runs in his past four games and seven for all of August. The six righties on tap for the Twins in Week 24 give him an even better chance of making good on the third-best hitter schedule.
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Weird things can happen in small samples, and one such oddity is that Luke Keaschall, a right-handed hitter, has gotten shredded by left-handed pitching so far. His .433 batting average and 1.217 OPS against righties should give you confidence in a righty-loaded schedule that includes Aaron Civale, Davis Martin, Seth Lugo, and Michael Lorenzen.
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Jung Hoo Lee has connected for just one home run since mid-May, but he's batting .315 (29 for 92) in August. It's a fairly hollow batting average, but the Giants' matchups are so favorable this week, featuring three games at Coors Field, that he should enjoy a nice little run and RBI bump.
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Mike Yastrzemski has been surprisingly excellent since joining the Royals at the trade deadline, hitting the ball harder and with more loft en route to a .260 batting average, six home runs, and .959 OPS. He'll enjoy the fifth-best hitter matchups this week, which include just one left-hander. Lefties have held him to a .141 batting average and .424 OPS this year.
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Luis Garcia has hit .283 with a .775 OPS against right-handers this season, so whenever the Nationals are scheduled to face one left-hander or fewer, as is the case this week, he's a pretty good play. The Nationals just missed the cut for the top five hitter matchups, too, facing such mashable righties as Ryan Gusto, Adam Mazur, Javier Assad, and Colin Rea.
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Luis Matos has suddenly become a fixture for the Giants, starting six of their past seven games and batting .360 (9 for 25) with two homers during that time. That's no reason to buy into him fully, but with the Giants having the top hitter matchups this week, he makes sense as a hot-hand play.
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