Sleeper hitters for Week 25 (Sept. 8-14)
Though it's flown under the radar with him being in and out of the lineup so much due to injury, Daulton Varsho has hit the ball considerably harder this year and is now sporting an .890 overall and .998 against righties, which is what he's scheduled to face in five of the Blue Jays' six games this week. He's verging on must-start yet remains available in more than half of CBS Sports leagues.
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Jorge Polanco is back to starting every game for the Mariners and enjoying a home run binge with six (to go along with a .375 batting average) in his past 15 games. The timing couldn't be better with the Mariners having the most favorable hitter matchups this week.
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The Twins just missed the cut for the five most favorable hitter matchups -- with opposing pitchers like Caden Dana, Kyle Hendricks, and Brandon Pfaadt presenting plenty of opportunity for damage -- and Royce Lewis seems like one of the best choices to take advantage. He's finally rounding into form during what's been a mostly disastrous season, having homered five times in his past 19 games.
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I said it heading into Week 24, and I'll say it again: Luis Garcia is worth using whenever the Nationals are scheduled to face a bunch of righties, given that he's batting .279 with a .769 OPS against them. They're scheduled to face six in their seven games this week, and seeing as they'll be missing Paul Skenes in the Pirates series, the matchups are pretty excellent, too.
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Seven games against the Royals and White Sox pitching staffs give the Guardians the second-best hitter matchups for Week 25, and among their hitters who might be available in your league, Kyle Manzardo makes for the best choice. He has an .876 OPS since the All-Star break and has homered four times in his past nine games.
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Isaac Collins was scorching hot to begin the second half, then cooled off toward the middle of August, but has started to come around again, batting .333 (9 for 27) with a homer and a steal in his past nine games. He's still reaching base at a .371 clip for the season and has been a particularly good source of RBI lately, so with the Brewers having only one game against a left-hander, he makes for a fine play.
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Harrison Bader seemed like he was in for a bit role when the Phillies acquired him from the Twins at the trade deadline, but he's forced his way into the lineup every day by batting .302 with an .866 OPS for his new team. You could argue he's been undervalued all along, given his 15 home runs and 10 steals on the season, and the Phillies are in line to face some vulnerable pitchers in the Mets and Royals rotations this week.
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After peaking in June, Otto Lopez fell on hard times to begin the second half, but he seems to be coming around in his past 10 games, batting .368 (14 for 38) with three home runs. It may be just the start of something, judging by the Marlins' matchups this week, which rate as the fourth-best.
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Again, the Twins just missed the cut for the five teams with the most favorable hitter matchups, and what's even better for Trevor Larnach is that not a single pitcher on tap throws left-handed. That should keep him in the lineup during a stretch in which he's batting .438 (14 for 32) over his past eight games, albeit with just one extra-base hit.
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Matt Wallner also stands to benefit from the Twins' righty-loaded schedule, at least if his career splits are any indication. He's a feast-or-famine type who seemed to have fallen into famine after a strong August performance, but a home run Thursday hopefully means he'll be feasting again soon.
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