If you need a fill-in for an injury or are simply looking for a short-term 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.
- Week 4: Sleeper pitchers | Two-start pitchers
All information is up to date as of Sunday evening.
Sleeper hitters for Week 4 (April 17-23)
Rowdy Tellez has taken advantage of favorable matchups over the past week, restoring his power stroke, and has a chance to keep it going against some of the shakiest pitchers the Mariners and Red Sox can throw at him, including Chris Flexen, Marco Gonzales, Nick Pivetta and Brayan Bello.
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It's kind of amazing the rookie is still less than 80 percent rostered given how productive he's been, but it's also a testament to how improved the catcher position is. With the Angels having the third-best hitter matchups, now the time to act on Logan O'Hoppe if you haven't already.
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Josh Jung has been making more consistent contact recently and has been fairly productive overall. With the Rangers boasting the second-best hitter matchups, going against the Royals and Athletics rotations, you have every reason to use him.
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The Reds have been consistent about sitting Jake Fraley against left-handers, but there's only one of those on the schedule this week. A four-game slate against the Pirates makes for a prime opportunity to show off his power/speed combo.
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Joey Wiemer still has yet to make a big splash batting at the bottom of the Brewers lineup, but he's playing every day and flashing enough power and speed to earn a thumbs-up with the Brewers having the fifth-best hitter matchups this week.
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Josh Rojas' playing time has been a little sporadic, but he's been on fire so far, batting nearly .400 and running a fair amount. The Diamondbacks are one of a handful of teams with seven games this week, and with only two lefties on the schedule, Rojas will likely start five of them.
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Brandon Marsh has managed to keep the strikeouts under control so far and has been a steady contributor in the bottom third of the Phillies lineup. He typically doesn't play against left-handers, but the Phillies are scheduled to face only one of those in their seven games this week.
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Garrett Mitchell finally contributed his first steal of the season Sunday and should get plenty of run against all the shaky right-handers the Brewers are scheduled to face this week, including Chris Flexen, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello.
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There is some risk of Edouard Julien getting sent down mid-week with the return of Joey Gallo, but with the way the Twins have been using him against right-handers, even batting him leadoff, the hope is they opt for someone else instead. The right-handers on tap this week are Corey Kluber, Tanner Houck, Trevor Williams, Chad Kuhl
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Kerry Carpenter is off to a slow start but recently hit his first two home runs (after having a combined 36 between the majors and minors last year). The Tigers have the fourth-best hitter matchups this week, and most importantly for Carpenter, none of them are lefties.
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Best hitter matchups for Week 4
1. Twins @BOS3, WAS3
2. Rangers @KC3, OAK3
3. Angels @BOS1, @NYY3, KC3
4. Tigers CLE3, @BAL3
5. Brewers @SEA3, BOS3
Worst hitter matchups for Week 4
1. Nationals BAL2, @MIN3
2. Rays @CIN3, CHW3
3. Royals TEX3, @LAA3
4. Yankees LAA3, TOR3
5. Red Sox LAA1, MIN3, @MIL3
