Sleeper hitters for Week 7 (May 5-11)
With his improved strikeout-to-walk ratio and elite exit velocity readings so far, it sure seemed like big things were destined for Maikel Garcia, and between his three-steal game Thursday and his two-homer game Sunday, they appear to have arrived. The Royals have this week's most favorable hitter matchups, too, beginning with four games against the White Sox staff.
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When a guy who's sitting on waivers raises his batting average nearly 100 points and his OPS nearly 300 points over the span of two weeks, there's just no looking past him -- I don't care what the matchups are. Fortunately, the matchups aren't bad for Andy Pages, who's on one of just six teams scheduled for seven games and facing some notable underachievers in the Marlins and Diamondbacks rotations.
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Between the four-hit, two-homer game Wednesday and the walk-off grand slam (as part of another two-homer game) Saturday, Kyle Stowers has been making plenty of headlines lately. He's been playing most every day for the Marlins, in spite of his left-handedness, and has actually throttled lefties to this point. But the sample is so small that your trust in him should still be higher against righties, which is all the Marlins are scheduled to face this week.
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The Marlins' matchups are decent enough, particularly in that series against the White Sox, but this pick is more a matter of Agustin Ramirez being a dynamic talent who has no business being on the waiver wire in so many leagues. Start him now, and start him forever.
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In a week when most every team seems to have good hitter matchups, the Nationals clock in with the fifth-best, and it just so happens that only one of the opposing pitchers is left-handed. Nate Lowe has been a solid enough play regardless of matchups, but he's been particularly productive against righties so far, batting .277 with a .898 OPS.
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Recently back from a bout with back spasms, Masyn Winn is now hitting second in the lineup and got his season back on track with a huge performance in a doubleheader Wednesday. The strikeout rate is still running high, but there's power and speed and some squishy matchups against pitchers like Carmen Mlodzinski, Mitch Keller, Trevor Williams and Jake Irvin.
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Why more people haven't scooped up the Reds leadoff hitter yet is beyond me. The power has been lacking, but TJ Friedl has done everything else right and is on one of just six teams scheduled for seven games. Five of the opposing pitchers throw right-handed, too, and all of his extra-base hits this year have come against righties.
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I should probably recommend another from the team with the most favorable hitter matchups, and the leadoff hitter isn't a bad way to go. Jonathan India is off to a slow start, but he's triple eligible and a walks and doubles machine when he's going well, which is what I'm counting on for that four-game series against the White Sox staff.
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Trevor Larnach's plate discipline and exit velocity readings have long enticed me, but his playing time has always been too sporadic for him to matter. Well, now he's playing some against lefties and has even started 11 straight for the Twins, going 11 for 38 (.289) with three home runs in his last 10. This week, he'll get to feast on righties like Dean Kremer, Tomoyuki Sugano, Jordan Hicks and Landon Roupp.
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Eli White developed a reputation as a lefty killer last year, but lately, the handedness of the opposing pitcher hasn't mattered. He's wrested the right field job away from Jarred Kelenic with a .308/.357/.596 slash line, showing surprising power and characteristic speed. He's likely to start all seven of the Braves' games this week, and better yet, four are against lefties.
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