If you need a fill-in for an injury or are simply looking for a spark, Scott White has you covered with 10 sleeper hitters for the upcoming scoring period, all rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues. They're not must-starts by any estimation, but they're the best you'll find off the waiver wire.
All information is up to date as of Sunday evening.
Sleeper hitters for Week 18 (July 24-30)
The Reds will face some pretty tough pitchers in their series against the Brewers and Dodgers this week, but what they won't face is a left-hander. Jake Fraley figures to start every game, then, and he's been a top-30 outfielder this year even as a platoon guy.
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Edouard Julien has recently made a name for himself in Fantasy, batting .465 (20 for 43) with five homers over his past 14 games. He remains widely available in part because he sits against left-handers, but the Twins have only one of those on the schedule this week.
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Seiya Suzuki has shown some signs of turning his season around, batting .323 (21 for 65) with two homers in his past 16 games. Meanwhile, the Cubs have the fourth-best hitter matchups this week.
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Mickey Moniak has been money against right-handed pitchers, batting .366 (52 for 142) with 11 homers and a 1.096 OPS, and the Angels are scheduled to face five of those in six games this week. Two of them pitch for the Tigers, too, which can't be a bad thing.
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Spencer Torkelson is finally delivering the results to back up his exit velocity readings, homering seven times in his past 21 games. He'll have more chances to deliver than most hitters this week, too, seeing as the Tigers are one of just four teams scheduled for seven games.
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C.J. Abrams is so far having the best month of his big-league career, hitting .353 (24 for 68) with three home runs and 10 stolen bases. Lately, the Nationals have been batting him leadoff, too, which gives him a chance to rack up at-bats in a week where they're one of just four teams playing seven games, beginning with three against the Rockies staff.
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Edouard Julien and Alex Kirilloff must be the twins that Minnesota is referring to because the left-handers have matched each other blow for blow lately. The latter is finally living up to his power projection with four homers in his past eight games and will enjoy a three-game series against the Royals pitching staff this week.
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Josh Bell is showing faint signs of life with a .389 (14 for 36) batting average and three home runs over his past 11 games, and if you take it back a little further, he has seven home runs in 32 games. The Guardians have the third-best hitter matchups this week, beginning with a three-game series against the Royals
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Wilmer Flores has been mashing so far in July, batting .423 (22 for 52) with four home runs, and it's earning him at-bats against righties as well as lefties for right now. But there do happen to be four lefties on the schedule this week, against whom he's batting .327 with a .919 OPS.
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Ezequiel Tovar has made himself into a serviceable Fantasy option since about the middle of May, batting .285 (57 for 200) with seven homers, three steals and a .786 OPS in his past 53 games. It helps that the Rockies have the best hitter matchups this week, visiting the Nationals' crummy pitching staff for three games before hosting the Athletics' patchwork pitching staff for three.
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Best hitter matchups for Week 18
1. Rockies @WAS3, OAK3
2. Guardians KC3, @CHW4
3. Cardinals @ARI3, CHC4
4. Cubs @CHW2, @STL4
5. Athletics @SF2, @COL3
Worst hitter matchups for Week 18
1. Marlins @TB2, DET3
2. Red Sox ATL2, @SF3
3. Pirates @SD3, PHI3
4. Royals @CLE3, MIN3
5. Rays MIA2, @HOU3
