Sleeper hitters for Week 6 (April 27-May 3)
Since having to sit out a few days for a disciplinary matter in early April, Carter Jensen has been a man on a mission, batting .321 with five home runs in his past 17 games. Being a left-handed batter, he does basically all of his damage against righties, and the Royals are scheduled to face five of those this week.
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Moises Ballesteros was renowned for his hit tool in the minors and has lived up to it so far as a rookie, carrying a .392 batting average into the weekend after another multi-hit performance Thursday. The only issue is that he tends to sit against left-handers, but with none on the schedule for Week 6, he should be all systems go.
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Miguel Vargas was also a sleeper hitter in Week 5 (April 20-26), and that recommendation has paid off handsomely so far. He's batting .276 (8 for 29) with four homers in his past six games and has decent enough matchups against the Angels and Padres pitching staffs.
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There have been some ups and downs already this season, but Daylen Lile appears to be rolling again, with his combination of a high line-drive rate and a low strikeout rate yielding a .370 (10 for 27) batting average and three home runs over his past seven games.
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Heliot Ramos' roster rate is surprisingly low given that he's coming off back-to-back 20-homer seasons, and by the time Week 6 is done, I may not be the only one who feels that way. He's in line to face four lefties in the upcoming scoring period and has a batting average about 30 points higher and an OPS about 160 points higher against lefties than righties in his career.
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Mauricio Dubon's impossibly hot start has slowed a little, but he's on the one team that's paying a visit to Coors Field this week. He's also in line to face four lefties, against whom his batting average is about 40 points higher and his OPS about 130 points higher over the course of his career.
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If Dubon is already rostered in your league, then Ildemaro Vargas makes for a reasonable fallback choice. The 34-year-old utility man, who is currently eligible at first and second base but is on the road to gaining third base as well, is getting a chance to play every day for the Diamondbacks and is doing surprisingly well with it thanks to a much higher pull-air rate than usual.
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Spencer Torkelson's slow start has gotten him dropped in about one-third of CBS Sports leagues, but he's showing signs of coming around with a home run both Wednesday and Thursday. He's reached 30 homers two of the past three years and is a good bet to do so again this year.
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Dalton Rushing has had the magic touch for the Dodgers, homering seemingly every time he plays, which has led to manager Dave Roberts sitting Will Smith more and more for him. I need to identify someone who can take advantage of the Dodgers' second-ranked hitter matchups this week, and seeing as no pitchers on the scheduled throw left-handed, I'm guessing the left-handed-hitting Rushing might be able to finagle an equal timeshare with Smith.
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Carson Benge finally showed signs of life with a double and a home run Thursday, and he has optimal matchups this week against two of the worst pitching staffs in baseball. The exit velocity and plate discipline readings have been fine, even if he's put the ball on the ground too much, and with only one left-hander on the schedule, he should get enough playing time.
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